Cirrus spissatus clouds over mountains in spring in New Zealand. Cirrus clouds are elongated tufted clouds that are found at altitudes over 5000 metres. They consist of tiny ice crystals which are blown by the wind into wispy shapes. This variety, cirrus spissatus, is a dense cirrus found high up into the stratosphere, as high as altitudes of over 13,000 metres. These cirrus spissatus clouds are in the sky over snow-covered mountains near Queenstown, on New Zealand's South Island. Photographed in the late morning in November.