Penitentes, or nieves penitentes (Spanish for “penitent-shaped snows”), are a snow formation found at high altitudes. They take the form of tall thin blades of hardened snow or ice, closely spaced with the blades oriented towards the general direction of the sun.

A general view shows smoke and volcanic ashes billowing from volcano Cotopaxi in Pedregal, Ecuador, late 07 October 2015. (Photo by Jose Jacome/EPA)

Russian policemen detain a person taking part in an unauthorized protest against Russia's partial military mobilization due to the conflict in Ukraine, in downtown Moscow, Russia on 24 September 2022. Russian President Putin announced in a televised address to the nation on 21 September, that he signed a decree on partial mobilization in the Russian Federation. Russian citizens who are in the reserve will be called up for military service. On 24 February 2022 Russian troops entered the Ukrainian territory in what the Russian president declared a “Special Military Operation”, starting an armed conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. (Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA/EFE)

A crowd of tourists walk on the street near Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, western Japan on March 30, 2023. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

A Hindu devotee is helped by other people as she walks on burning coals during a religious procession Vel Festival of the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman (Sheetla Mata), in New Delhi, India, 06 April 2017. People get their bodies pierced with different kinds of metal needles and rods and participate in a religious procession as thanks giving gesture to the goddess in return of their fulfilled wishes during the annual procession. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA)

The phenomenon of the Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania began when people started leaving crosses there hundreds of years ago – and continues to this day. These photos of a hill covered in crosses show the amazing sight it has become. Photo: In 1831 an unsuccessful uprising against the Russian czar left many rebels dead. Relatives of the dead rebels, with no bodies to bury, instead left crosses, according to the Daily Mail. (Photo by Richard Gardner/Rex USA)

A portrait of Kazakh historical figure Ablai Khan is projected on a building in downtown Astana, Kazakhstan, October 8, 2015. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

U.S. Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment deployed to Combat Outpost Sabari, Afghanistan scan their area as they begin a multi-day air assault mission near the Pakistani border of eastern Afghanistan's Khost province May 2, 2012. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)