Ancestors

Toot

Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 15:13

For #MountainMonday, some scenes from the high Andes around this time of year, near Cerro los Olivares. Penitentes are snow/ice features formed by differential sublimation. They start with small variations in the surface, which are reinforced as the peaks better radiate heat, and the valleys focus sunlight. They are made larger by thin, dry air and intense sun, so the high Andes close to the equator are one of the best places to see them.

I saw some taller than a person later in this trip. These were no more than knee-high, but still challenging to cross. On the right, note the typical poor choices for travel: unstable scree, short penitentes, and bare glacial ice.

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Descendants

Written by Sander Meijer on 2024-12-30 at 17:43

@drdirtbag weird stuff! never seen it. thx.

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Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 19:41

@bergmeister I've seen small ones in California's Sierra Nevada, but nothing like the Andes. Here's a remnant one near Ojos del Salado that was over 2m high.

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Written by Sander Meijer on 2024-12-30 at 19:50

@drdirtbag out of this world 👌

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Written by Franz Graf on 2024-12-30 at 18:15

@drdirtbag hu?! THIS looks strange! thanks for sharing!

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Written by Douglas on 2024-12-30 at 18:16

@drdirtbag they remind me of extreme sun cups in snow fields.

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Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 19:35

@douglasvb Pretty much, but there are some subtleties. Here's an article by @JenLucPiquant about how penitentes form: https://gizmodo.com/physicists-unravel-the-longstanding-mystery-of-these-sp-1732684998 . And an academic treatment of suncups: https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0007099 .

tl;dr -- Penitentes seem to be purely from solar radiation and sublimation on clean snow, while suncups form in different ways depending upon the amount of dirt on the snow.

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Written by Virginia Craft on 2024-12-30 at 19:58

@drdirtbag

Yet again, great photos! And I appreciate knowing more about penitentes :)

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Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 20:19

@va Thanks! Sadly I don't think Colorado is dry enough for them, but if you make it back to the Sierra, there is/was a field south of Polemonium Peak in the Palisades. That's about as high and dry as you can get in the Sierra.

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Written by Virginia Craft on 2024-12-30 at 20:56

@drdirtbag

Oh, I love the Palisades! I'll bookmark this for my next Sierra trip. Thanks for the intel :)

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Written by quixote on 2024-12-30 at 20:15

@drdirtbag When I first saw photos of Penitentes, they did remind me of people standing, but staring up in awe.

I couldn't understand why they called them Penitentes. 😆

Finally figured out, 'oh, they could be facing the other way!'

They look like you could cut yourself trying to get across.

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Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 20:52

@quixote Yes, tripping and falling would be ill-advised, and could lead to stigmata. ;-)

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Written by Anja-in-Wonderland on 2024-12-30 at 21:16

@drdirtbag@mountains.social 😍 Have a wonderful time 🤗

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Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 21:21

@anja_in_wonderland This was late 2019, on my first big bike-mountaineering tour down there. I'd like to make it down again to tour northern Argentina and Bolivia, but other places beckon.

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Written by Virginia Craft on 2024-12-30 at 22:39

@drdirtbag

Also, how do you cross these if you're unable to go around them? Any tips?

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Written by Dr. Dirtbag on 2024-12-30 at 23:03

@va Depends on the size. At knee-height or less, I stepped in the holes. For the huge ones I balanced on the saddles and used them for balance. In between, it was kind of like a fighting game, punching and kicking them to make a path. I normally hate mountain boots, but they came in handy on this trip.

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Written by Virginia Craft on 2024-12-31 at 00:50

@drdirtbag. Duly noted!

It sounds like a good test of patience 😅

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