Cold flowers

Cold flowers

It was freezing around Pequeño Alpamayo base camp.
rgg
on Oct 14, 2010 10:42 am
Image Type(s): Flora
Image ID: 670740

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EricChu

EricChu - Mar 3, 2011 1:35 pm - Voted 10/10

This is extraordinary!!

I don't think I've ever seen something like that!!

rgg

rgg - Mar 3, 2011 1:50 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: This is extraordinary!!

I've seen something like this before, but not often, and then it was caused by freezing rain.

In this case, the explanation must be something else, for as far as I can remember, it didn't rain at all the days I was climbing Pequeño Alpamayo.

In fact, I can only recall one short spell of light rain in the whole five weeks that I was in Bolivia. Sure, it's a bit colder in winter, but still, excellent climbing conditions!

Basically, winter on the altiplano is dry. Very, very dry. A whole lot different from what's happened in La Paz a few days ago :-(. Completely foreseeable, but sad nonetheless.

nartreb

nartreb - Mar 3, 2011 3:24 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: This is extraordinary!!

This can happen when rime or hoarfrost partially melts in the sun, then refreezes overnight. The tiny white frost crystals merge into a single glassy matrix while keeping most of their shape.

Guess the wind direction when these ones were originally deposited:
refrozen ice

Sometimes the process repeats: rime on ice

EricChu

EricChu - Mar 3, 2011 5:55 pm - Voted 10/10

Re: This is extraordinary!!

Sure, but I wonder how many times it turns out to be something so regular and so exquisitely beautiful...like a Swarovsky creation...

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