Not too far away from the location of the images presented in the October release (Cryptic Mars) and still located in the Australe Scopuli region, HRSC made this intriguing observation. In keeping with the season, the 3D views in particular are remotely reminiscent of terrestrial ski resorts. However, skiing is not advised at -125°C.

The layered appearance of the polar layered deposits is clearly recognizable throughout the whole image. This kind of deposits is usually composed of a mixture of CO₂ ice and dust. The northern part of the image (right side) shows very faint orange tones, whereas the left side of the image is dominated by numerous dark fan-shaped deposits, oriented in the direction of prevailing winds. The lengths of the fans range from tens of meters to several hundreds of meters. These seasonal polar fans are deposits from jets that ejected dark dust from the subsurface of the seasonal polar CO₂ ice cap. Their formation is associated with "spiders” (araneiforms) [see HRSC PR April 2024 – Angustus Labyrinthus] and their activity is governed by solar radiation.

Interestingly, the fans appear in many cases to follow layer boundaries of the polar layered deposits. Presumably, these boundaries represent zones of weakness, where the escaping and dust-laden CO₂ jets can break through the seasonal ice cap surface more easily. Another interesting observation is that the dark fans also appear to show higher concentrations at southern flanks of hills and troughs where they might receive more sunlight than at other locations. Some places are very dark in color caused by the dark fan concentration and could therefore even accelerate the sublimation process.