Don't Get Sunburned

And now for a moment (or two) of blatant self-promotion: my new book is out and available for purchase. The title is Don't Get Sunburned: 50 Ways to Save Your Skin. It's all about how ultraviolet light damages your skin, how ozone depletion increases the chance of damage, and about how to keep from getting damaged. In case you didn't know, there's a new UVA rating system for sunscreens (the old system only rated protection from UVB) and I cover the new system and things like the effects of UV light when altitude, wind, latitude, season, and skin wetness are added to the equation. There's info on skin types, baby skin, already-sunburned skin, and skin cancer. The price: $7.95--and the cover is as pink as burned epithelial tissue. You can see more at www.mountaineersbooks.org.

A Death in the Family

On 28 April John Evans, a complete mountaineer and rescue ranger on Denali, a wonderful gentleman, and a great friend died in a climbing accident in Wales. I had the immense privilege of working several patrols on Denali with John, the last in the spring of 2008. In past years, we had taught together, climbed together, and sipped quite a few fine drams of single malt together. He was the kind of man you could not help loving, and I will miss him tremendously. I chose to post the news here, knowing many of you never had the pleasure of meeting John Evans, but feeling the need to send out a few words in quiet celebration of his life. Thank you for listening.

The Sunglasses Myth

Tod Schimelpfenig over at NOLS has been investigating the notion that cheap sunglasses can keep your pupils dilated and cause sunburn of the retina. Experts questioned by Tod agree this is a myth. Simply stated, not enough radiation is going to reach the retina to cause a burn, even with intensely reflected light from snow, and even with really inexpensive sunglasses. But there's more at risk than your retina! If your cheap sunglasses have low UV protection you most likely will increase your risk of injury to the cornea--the risk of snowblindness. And, over time, the risk of cataracts, macular degeneration, and even eye cancer. Cheap sunglasses, however, can have high UV protection, which is, of course, what you want--and need. Bottom line: Your sunglasses need to provide protection as complete as possible from all ultraviolet light, and they need to wrap around to keep UV light from creeping in from the side. You don't have to pay a lot of money for protection, but you do have to pay a lot of attention to what you're purchasing.