Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: ice

The Sántis is with a height of 2.502 metres the highest peak in the Alpstein massif in northeastern Switzerland. It is a natural landmark in the region between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. The mountain towers above one of the most beautiful landscapes of Europe and can be seen from miles away. . The name Säntis dates back to the 9th century. It is an abbreviation of the Romansh language for Sambatinus (The one born on Saturday), which was thought to be the name of a nearby area. The name was later used to refer to the summit. In the German language it was originally called Semptis or Sämptis. We were quite lucky with the weather during our visit. We took the aerial cable car at 9.30 am from Schwägalp, right at the foot of the Säntis At the peak we had a breathtaking clear 360-degree view, although it was freezing cold. It is said that one can see six Alpine countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and France. To be honest I can not tell if I saw all these countries. When back - just more than an hour later - the peak was already surrounded by clouds !! Main picture: Swiss Alps with the Churfirsten in the ‘foreground’. PiP 1: panorama (three pictures stitched together) looking north (Germany and Lake Constance) and northeast (Austria). PiP 2 and 3: freezing and ‘hoarfrosting’ cold.

The Perito Moreno Glacier - named after explorer Francisco Moreno - is located in Los Glaciares National Park, about 80 km’s from El Calafate. The glacier is part of the so called Southern Patagonian Ice Field. This ice field is one of the largest reserves of fresh water on earth. The glacier has a length of 30 km’s and its terminus is 5 km’s wide. We were on a boat trip and it is overwhelming to see this ice wall of 60 metres above the water of Lago Argentino with its crevices, clefts, peaks and sometimes deep turquoise colours. Constantly you hear the noise of large pieces of ice collapsing as the glacier slowly advances. The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the few Patagonian glaciers that is still growing. On the left side of the picture you can see the glacier terminus 'touching' the mainland and damming a part of Lago Argentino (‘Brazo Rico’). The water level on that part of the lake will rise high above the level on the other side of the ice dam. Every year (or couple of years) the pressure of the dammed water breaks through the ice barrier causing a spectacular rupture, sending a massive outpouring of water from Brazo Rico into Lago Argentino.

Emjoying a proper Dutch winter during the ‘Blokzijler Merentocht’, an ice skating tour of 35 km’s on the lakes in northwest Overijssel and through the nature reserve ‘De Wieden’. Due to bad ice conditions this tour (January 2009) was ‘halfway’ interrupted by officials and police.

Ice skating along the windmills of Kinderdijk during a real Dutch winter. (picture taken with a Rollei Prego 90 > scanned)

Oranjepark: hoarfrost on the trees.

Oranjepark: hoarfrost with low sun and backlight.