There is something extremely special about the snow in Mongolia. As someone who spent the majority of her life in Iowa and Minnesota, I come from a snowy background. I am familiar with hard snow, snowball-making snow, powder, flurries, wet snow, and ice covered snow. As a child, I spent many winter afternoons digging snow forts until my nose was red with minor frost bite. But I have never seen snow like I have here.

It is the most glittery, sparkly snow I could imagine. It’s like tiny crystals dancing in the sky – and that is on a clear day. I suspect that it has something to do with the extremely dry atmosphere and would love confirmation from any of you helpful meteorologists or atmospheric scientists out there. I wish I could capture it on film, but the crystals are so microscopic it’s been almost impossible. I suppose being surrounded by fine glitter is more of an experience than an image anyway.

The other remarkable snow I’ve seen is on the ground. Rather than a powder of individual snowflakes, branches, grass, rocks, and dirt are covered in thick ice crystals. After some cursory research, I found that this is known as rime and occurs when water droplets freeze quickly. I suppose it’s a result of (trade off for?) the constant subzero weather.

Below is a collection of snowy photos for your viewing pleasure. Click here for more photos.

Snow on Frozen River

Glittery Snow

Snow Crystals

Ice Crystals on Rocks

Frosty Grass

Sharon With Icy Snow

Icy Hill

Proceed Slowly

Beyonce the Puppy

Frosty Trees in Ulaanbaatar