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.

The Enemy, 1944. With the outbreak of world war two, photojournalism was enlisted in defence of Mother Russia. In this photo by Anatoli Egorov, who was wounded in action, corporal Stepan Vasiljevich Ovcharenko shoots at enemy troops with a machine gun. (Photo by Anatoli Egorov/Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography)

Aerial view of tourists cooling off at a water park in summer on June 27, 2023 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. Zhengzhou Meteorological Observatory on June 27 issued an orange alert for high temperatures. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A young migrant runs through the Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter where migrants sleep on the floor on mats in Villahermosa, Mexico, late Friday, June 7, 2024. After the head of Mexico's immigration agency ordered a halt to deportations in December, migrants have been left in limbo as authorities round up migrants across the country and dump them in the southern Mexican cities of Villahermosa and Tapachula. (Photo by Felix Marquez/AP Photo)

Model Luma Grothe poses on red carpet as he arrives for the screening of the film “Julieta” in competition at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 17, 2016. (Photo by Regis Duvignau/Reuters)

Winner. “I took this picture of a woman in traditional clothing in Cartagena, Colombia”. PAUL GOLDSTEIN, JUDGE: “The blaze of colour from every angle, the boldness of the picture, taken from behind, which gives it so much more allure and frankly a superb get up. Did I mention the colours? Oh, and that looks suspiciously like a Nokia”. (Photo by Stanislav Shmelev/The Guardian)

Lebanese university students wearing municipality police costume regulate the traffic in the village of Brummana, east Beirut, Lebanon, 23 June 2018. The touristic town of Brummana is making a daring move in anticipation of the crowded summer season, by forming a group of young policewomen wearing mini shorts to regulate the traffic. (Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA/EFE)