A white yak sits on the lakeside of Namtso on May 19, 2024 in Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region of China. As temperature rises and ice melts, Lake Namtso is entering its tourism season. An event celebrating the melting of frozen water of Lake Namtso is held on May 19. (Photo by Jin Wei/VCG via Getty Images)

Pictured is Ice Pug. Talk about living the pug life! These hilarious snaps of pugs made as part of a project by Australian company the Dog Photographers show pups dressed in '80s and '90s hip hop outfits. They seem to be having a good time as they pose in snap backs and gold chains. (Photo by Caters News Agency/Dog Photographers)

A man impersonating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he stands before North Korean cheerleaders attending the Unified Korean ice hockey game against Japan during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung on February 14, 2018. (Photo by Yelim Lee/AFP Photo)

South Korea's Shim Sukhee falls in the women's 1,500m short track speed skating heat event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on February 17, 2018. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Kea are the only true alpine parrots in the world and thrive as cunning opportunists in the freezing conditions of the Southern Alps. Kea are thought to have developed their wide array of food-finding strategies during the last great ice age, where they learned to adapt using their unusual powers of curiosity. (Photo by Tom Walker/BBC Pictures/The Guardian)

imena Dominguez of Venezuela competes with the ball in the rhythmic gymnastics on day one of Sky Grace Cup Internationa Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament at Beijing Shougang Ice Hockey Stadium on November 12, 2025 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

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.