Every year, we see reports from people who were seriously burned from hiking Whitney in snowy conditions. The sunlight at altitude is significantly stronger and more intense due to the thinner air; AND most importantly, the snow reflects the sunlight back at you.
People who don't wear sunglasses can return with serious eye burn. It feels like sand in your eyes, and can last several days. Major prescription pain medications are required to ease the pain.
People who don't wear sunscreen can get seriously burned! When the days are warm, people like to wear shorts and peel down to a T-shirt or less. You can burn far worse on a Whitney hike than anywhere else.
Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen are mandatory this time of year.
...Here's a dialog from an Instagram post: L671:Super sun burnt from this hike. Looking like a Marvel character at the moment. Trying to make sunglass tan lines look cute. 100% worth it MV13:Hey for real .. Me too H151:Me too!! Lol even the inside of my nostrils are fried L671:The sun on Whitney this past week had no mercy...I don't usually get sun burns!!
