Snow and ice

Yaks, grazing in a snow-covered landscape, Jarsang Valley, Annapurna, Nepal. The pointed mountain is Khatung Kang (6,488 m). – Read about the yak on this website, see Animals: Animals as servants of Man – Cattle, banteng and yak. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Caterpillar, crossing a stream, bordered by snow walls, Chukotka, Siberia. – Read more about Chukotka on this website, see Travel episodes: Siberia 2011 – Caterpillar trip across Chukotka. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Horse riders in a snow-covered landscape, Arashan Valley, Kyrgyzstan. – Read about horses on this website, see Animals: Animals as servants of Man – Horse, donkey and mule. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Fruits of great burdock (Arctium lappa), covered in rime, Horsens Fjord, Denmark. – Read more about burdock on this website, see Traditional medicine: Arctium lappa. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During a hike to Makalu-Barun National Park, eastern Nepal, our porters struggle through snow and fog near the Shipton La Pass (4,216 m) (top). On our way, we met another group of porters, heading the opposite way (bottom). Note that the woman is bare-footed. If she had been one of our porters, we would have bought her a pair of sneakers! – Read more about our hike to Makalu-Barun National Park on this website, see Plants: Plant hunting in the Himalaya – The rhododendron valley. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The snow goose (Anser caerulescens) comes in two colour morphs, a snow-white phase, which has given this species its common name, and a bluish-grey phase, referred to as ‘blue goose’, which has given it the specific name caerulescens, meaning ‘bluish’. The snow goose is a bird of the New World, breeding mainly in northern Canada and Alaska, with small populations in Greenland and north-eastern Siberia. It spends the winter along the Pacific coast, from southern British Columbia southwards, and in southern United States and Mexico. – This bird was photographed in Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, California. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

View from inside an ice cave in the Sierra Nevada, Parque Nacional Conguillio, Chile. The taller trees with white trunks are the national tree of Chile, pehuén (Araucaria araucana), in English called ‘monkey-puzzle tree’. – Read more about Parque Nacional Conguillio on this website, see Travel episodes: Chile 2011 – The white forest. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During a snowstorm below the Rohtang Pass (3,978 m), Himachal Pradesh, India, this roadside vendor continues roasting corn cobs, while his partner seeks shelter under a huge umbrella. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The snowy egret (Egretta thula) is named after its snow-white plumage. This small heron, which is very similar to the Old World little egret (E. garzetta), is found in South and Central America, and in parts of North America, where some populations are migratory, wintering further south. The name of the genus, Egretta, is from a French word, aigrette, meaning ‘little heron’. In 1782, the specific name, thula, was given to this bird by a mistake by Chilean Jesuit priest and naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina (1740-1829), who didn’t realize that in fact thula was the local Mapuduncun name for the black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus). – This snowy egret was photographed in Tortuguero National Park, Limón, Costa Rica. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

These tombstones in the Jewish cemetery at Nørrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark, are partly covered by snow. – More pictures of tombstones are found on this website, see Culture: Graves. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

These partly melted pugmarks in the snow, in the Jarsang Khola Valley, Annapurna, Nepal, signify that a snow leopard (Uncia uncia) passed here the previous night. These large and elusive cats live in mountains of Central Asia, but have been hunted to extinction in many areas because of their rich and beautiful fur. In Buddhist areas like Ladakh, Sikkim, and Bhutan, and Khumbu and Dolpo in Nepal, hunting is banned, and in these areas, this rare cat has safe havens, where it can prey on species like bharal (Pseudois nayaur), urial (Ovis vignei), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), and Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster). (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The snow bunting (Calcarius nivalis, or Plectrophenax nivalis) is aptly named, as it breeds in the High Arctic, spending the winter in snowy fields and coastal meadows further south. Its plumage is also predominantly snow-white. It has a northern circumpolar distribution, with isolated populations in northern Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Previously, this species and the longspurs were placed among the buntings, in the family Emberizidae, but DNA research has shown that they form a distinct clade, now placed in a family of its own, Calcariidae. – This male snow bunting takes off from a rusty pipe, Chukotka, Siberia. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The Tibetan snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus) is a large gamebird, which is rather common in drier areas of the High Himalaya. These birds are feeding near Tughla, Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu, Nepal. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Terraced fields, covered in a thin layer of newly fallen snow, Wumeng Shan, Guizhou Province, China. – Read more about this area on this website, see Travel episodes: China 2009 – Among black-necked cranes. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Avalanche, roaring down the Bethartoli Glacier, Nanda Devi National Park, Uttarakhand, India. – Read more about Nanda Devi National Park on this website, see Travel episodes: India 1982 – Pleasures of Nanda Devi. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Frozen meltwater lakes and deposited moraine gravel on the Lower Barun Glacier, Makalu-Barun National Park, Nepal. – Read more about Makalu-Barun National Park on this website, see Plants: Plant hunting in the Himalaya – The rhododendron valley. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This lady’s mantle (Alchemilla) has been covered in snow during the night, Kaska Su Valley, Kyrgyzstan. – Read more about lady’s mantle on this website, see Traditional medicine: Alchemilla. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Snowfinches (Montifringilla) are a small genus of eight high-altitude passerines, mainly distributed in Central Asia, with a single species, the white-winged snowfinch (M. nivalis), found further west, through the Middle East to the Alps and the Pyrenees. Despite their name, snowfinches are not finches, but sparrows, of the family Passeridae. This picture shows a Tibetan, or black-winged, snowfinch (M. adamsi), feeding on seeds, Nagarze, Tibet. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During a hike in the Upper Ghunsa Valley, Kangchendzonga Conservation Area, eastern Nepal, we were camping at Lhonak, waking up to a snow-covered landscape. – Read more about our hike on this website, see Travel episodes: Nepal 1994 – A close call. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During severe winter weather, numerous mute swans (Cygnus olor) are gathered around a hole in the ice cover, Møn, Denmark. Some have already succumbed to cold and starvation, others are dying. The dark spots on the ice are excreta from the birds. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea), which belongs to the heath family (Ericaceae), is a parasite, deriving its nutrients from underground fungi, which live in symbiosis with tree roots. The common name refers to the early flowering of this species, which often appears, when snow is still covering the ground. The specific name sanguinea means ‘blood-red’, which, of course, refers to the striking colour of the plant. It is found in the Cascade Range of Oregon and California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. – This picture is from the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Viburnum grandiflorum is common in temperate forests of the western Himalaya. As its specific name implies, it has large flowers – largest among the eight Himalayan species of this genus. It is also among the few Himalayan trees, which bloom in winter and early spring. – The flowers on this tree were surprised by sudden frost, following snowfall, Dodi Tal, Uttarakhand, India. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

As its name implies, the snow pigeon (Columba leuconota) lives in cold regions. This species is very common in higher mountain regions, from Afghanistan east to the Yunnan Province in China, and from the Himalaya north to the Qinghai Province in China. – In winter, snow pigeons gather in large flocks. This flock was photographed in the Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India (top). A snow pigeon takes off from a rock, Namche Bazaar, Khumbu, Nepal (bottom). (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Snow-covered mountains around Kyanjin Gompa, Langtang National Park, Nepal. – Read about this area on this website, see Travel episodes: Nepal 2009 – Across a snow-covered pass. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Village, covered in a thin layer of newly fallen snow, Wumeng Shan, Guizhou Province, China. – Read more about this area on this website, see Travel episodes: China 2009 – Among black-necked cranes. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) was named after its snow-white berries. It is a native of North America, but has been introduced as an ornamental to many other parts of the world. This picture from Funen, Denmark, also shows the tiny pink flowers of this species. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Snow, falling the previous night, has partly buried these flowers of a primrose species, Primula irregularis, Helambu, Nepal. – Read more about primrose species on this website, see Plants: Primroses. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Spring in the Arctic: Meltwater and snow walls along a stream, Chukotka, Siberia. – Read more about Chukotka on this website, see Travel episodes: Siberia 2011 – Caterpillar trip across Chukotka. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Below the Laurebina La Pass (4609 m), Gosainkund, central Nepal, my guide, Tanka Bahadur Pantha, enjoys a brief lull in a snow storm. The lake in the background is Surya Kund, one among 54 lakes in this area, which are all sacred to Hindus. In the Hindu pantheon, Surya is the Sun God. – Read more about Hindu gods, and about Hinduism in general, on this website, see Religion: Hinduism. – You can also read more about the Gosainkund area, see Plants: Plant hunting in the Himalaya – Around sacred lakes of Shiva. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

A group of plants of the genus Nymphoides, belonging to the bog-bean family (Menyanthaceae), are called floating hearts, due to their floating, heart-shaped leaves. One species, N. indica, is named Indian snowflake after its fringed flowers, which resemble snowflakes. This picture is from Lake Phewa Tal, Pokhara, Nepal. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Female porters, passing in front of the snow-clad peaks of Ama Dablam (6,856 m), Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu, Nepal. This peak is sacred to the local Sherpa people. – Read more about Sagarmatha National Park on this website, see Travel episodes: India & Nepal 1978 – Journey towards Everest. (Photo John Burke, copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Tourists, visiting the glacier beneath Grossglockner, at 3,798 metres the highest mountain in Austria. During the last fifty years, this glacier has been melting at an alarming speed. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The base of this chorten (Tibetan style Buddhist stupa) at Tharke Ghyang, Helambu, Nepal, is adorned with reliefs, depicting snow lions (top). This mythical creature of Central Asia ranges over mountains and glaciers, symbolizing strength, fearlessness, and joy. The lower picture shows a wall painting, depicting a snow lion, in the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet. – Read more about the Jokhang Temple, and about Tibet in general, on this website, see Travel episodes: Tibet 1987 – Tibetan summer. You may also read more about chortens, and about Buddhism in general, see Religion: Buddhism. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Rhododendron flowers, covered in rime, Wumeng Shan, Guizhou Province, China. – Read more about rhododendron species on this website, see Plants: Rhododendrons. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This flower of a primrose species, Primula sessilis, is partly covered in frozen snow, which fell the previous night, Dodi Tal, Uttarakhand, India. – Read more about primrose species on this website, see Plants: Primroses. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During severe winter weather, each falling tide leaves a thin layer of frozen water on emerging stones in Horsens Fjord, Denmark. The following rising tide will push this layer outwards, leaving a new thin layer of ice inside the previous layer. In this way, several rising and falling tides create a ’flower’ with delicate ice petals. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Morning light on the snow-clad face of Langtang Lirung (7,245 m), the highest mountain in Langtang National Park, Nepal. – Read about this area on this website, see Travel episodes: Nepal 2009 – Across a snow-covered pass. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Snowbells, of the genus Soldanella, comprising about 15 species, are found in montane areas of southern Europe, from the Pyrenees east to the Balkans. The common name snowbell refers to the early flowering of these plants, which often appear in depressions, shortly after the snow has melted. The generic name Soldanella is a diminutive of the Italian word soldo (‘coin’), thus ‘little coins’, referring to the leaf shape of most species of this genus. – These pictures show an abundance of dwarf snowbell (Soldanella pusilla), growing in a depression near Hochtor, Grossglockner, Austria. – A picture of a similar species, the alpine snowbell (S. alpina), is found elsewhere on this website, see Travel episodes: Asia & Europe 1975 – Long journey home. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The stem of this rosebay willow-herb (Chamerion angustifolium) is covered in rime, bending it to the ground. This species is a colonizer of disturbed areas, readily invading forests clearings and abandoned fields. An excellent example of its ability to completely take over newly abandoned fields can be studied on this website, see Vorsø on my mind: Expanding wilderness. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This snowman partly melted in the sunshine, causing it to tilt. However, during the night it froze again, assuming an unusual position. – Portland, Maine, United States. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

(Uploaded October 2017)

(Revised continuously)

Kaj Halberg - writer & photographer

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Snow and ice