Photos: Finding beauty amid the deep freeze

By Loren Holmes, Marc Lester, Bill Roth, Anne Raup
Updated: January 25, 2024 Published: January 25, 2024

A Fata Morgana distorts a view of Mt. Redoubt on Jan. 24, 2024 in a view from the Anchorage hillside. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Southcentral Alaska has been experiencing a stretch of chilly weather. The skies are mostly clear and the lack of cloud cover allows any heat to dissipate. But with severe conditions comes beauty in large and small ways. Cold fogs form and lend a whole new look to the environment. Tiny feathers form in crystalline ice, streams freeze into crazy icy landscapes.

Water flows near the mostly-frozen surface of Ship Creek in Anchorage on January 24, 2024. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Sunset light hits patterns in the snow near the Glen Alps trailhead of Chugach State Park on January 22, 2024. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Sunshine penetrates the fog in this view from Ship Creek in Anchorage on January 24, 2024. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Frost is highlighted by the morning sun near a pedestrian bridge over Ship Creek in Anchorage on January 24, 2024. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Snow buildup on roofs in East Anchorage on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. The garage roof in foreground also has ice damming above the icicles. (Bill Roth / ADN)

A raven takes flight near mouth of Ship Creek during sunset on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Ice crystals formed on a clerestory window during below zero temperatures in Anchorage on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Steam rises from buildings in Midtown Anchorage during a cold snap on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Fog spills over a bluff at the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge near Kincaid Park on Jan. 24, 2024 in a view from the Anchorage hillside. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

An American Dipper perches on the fragile ice of Chester Creek on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 24, 2024. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Samantha Clark skis down a hill overlooking Cook Inlet near the Glen Alps trailhead of Chugach State Park on January 22, 2024. Her dog, Jager, runs alongside her. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Trees and mist catch the low-angle light on Westchester Lagoon on Dec. 29, 2023. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Feathery ice formations form the banks of Chester Creek on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 24, 2024. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Feathery ice crystals form on the ice of Chester Creek on a Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 24, 2024. (Anne Raup / ADN)

Loren Holmes

Loren Holmes is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News. Contact him at loren@adn.com.

Marc Lester

Marc Lester is a multimedia journalist for Anchorage Daily News. Contact him at mlester@adn.com.

Bill Roth

Bill Roth is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News.

Anne Raup

Multimedia editor Anne Raup has been with ADN for 26 years, both as a staff shooter and an editor.