“A snapshot from mountaineer's life”. Have you ever wondered how does a mountaineer's day start? I will give you a hint: you wake up at 3 am, set the stove, wake up your partner, pretend it is warm, quickly consume a high-calorie breakfast, watch your friends slowly ascending the icy slopes of your dream summit with their tiny head torches glimmering against perfectly blue ice, and hope for the good weather. One would ask: why all this trouble? The answer is easy: for the love of the adventure and the unknown. Location: Chamonix, Haute Savoye, France. (Photo and caption by Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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A family member of a torch relay runner wearing a protective mask uses a portable electric fan to cool down as she attends a torch kiss event during Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay celebration at Shinagawa Central Park in Tokyo, Japan, July 21, 2021. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

Fans attend the World Premiere Of Marvel Studios' “Captain America: Brave New World” at TCL Chinese Theatre on February 11, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage)

In celebration of the Spring Solstice 2013 and in conjunction with the release of Dreamworks’ 3D animation The Croods – a family animation centered around the first ever pre historic road trip – a giant monument was built at Stonehenge at sunrise on Tuesday March 19, 2013. This marks the first time a modern structure has Ever been allowed on this historic site. (Photo by Flashforwardpublicity.com)

Artist German Vinogradov acts in the performance of the burning of installation, devoted to Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, Kaluga region, Russia, February 17, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Luna the French Bulldog is dressed in red, white, and blue during the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, DC, on July 4, 2023. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds/AFP Photo)

A truffle is seen on a table in Alba, north-western Italy November 11, 2013. Located in the heart of the Langhe – the hilly southern area of Italy's northwestern Piedmont region – Alba is the country's capital of white truffles, a variety of the prized fungus which grows underground. Truffles are found two to eight inches (5-20cm) below the ground near the roots of trees. They give off an odour which lasts for a limited period of time and can be detected with the assistance of well-trained dogs and experienced hunters. Output of white truffles, which are not cultivated and only grow naturally in forests, has fallen in Italy over the past few years, largely because climate change has brought a damaging mix of drought and torrential rains. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)