Surreal, unique, as if from another world – the tales that visitors tell of the ice cave of the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska outdo each other in superlatives. Shimmering blue layers of ice above, a watercourse peacefully babbling through bizarre rock formations below. Here, time seems to stand still. But the supposed idyll has a sad story behind it: The glacier, only 21 kilometres from Alaska’s capital Juneau, is literally melting under visitors’ feet. The cave is a result of this melting process. Global warming is to blame. Data records show a decline in the glacier of more than three kilometres between 1958 and now, compared to only 800 metres in the previous 450 years.
Foto | Naphat Chantaravisoot (Getty)
Perfected technique: Stalk, crouch, spring almost pike-like, dive headfirst, chomp. This is how red foxes hunt mice in snow-covered areas. The fox can’t actually see its prey, a mouse for instance, but rather locates it by using its extraordinary sense of hearing. Ashleigh Scully captured one of the bushy-tailed companions at “work”. On a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, the young American photographer (ashleighscullyphotography.com) spotted a female fox and reacted immediately. With this stunning shot, Scully won the prestigious “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” award in the 11 to 14-year-old category.
Foto | Ashleigh Scully
Goosebumps guaranteed! Gao Yinyu is about to climb into icy waters. Voluntarily. And naked. His dive is part of an outdoor fitness programme that the 81-year-old has pursued every day since retiring as a teacher. Even in winter, he jogs in his red shorts through the forest near his home in the Jilin province of northeast China, does a headstand in the snow, and exercises on the horizontal bar. He only wears gloves, says Yinyu, so that his fingers don’t freeze to the metal.
Foto | AFP Photo (Getty)
