{"id":174663,"date":"2022-01-24T16:05:10","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T00:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=174663"},"modified":"2023-12-01T15:26:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T23:26:42","slug":"can-i-get-sunburned-in-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/can-i-get-sunburned-in-winter","title":{"rendered":"Can I Get Sunburned In Winter?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Something was off. My face felt tight. Pressure piled in my head like it does when you plunge deep into the ocean or to the bottom of a pool. My heartbeat\u2014rhythmic and steady\u2014thrummed in my lips. I fumbled for my headlamp and sat upright in my sleeping bag, hoping my body would discover some sort of equilibrium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was cold on the glacier, which was still blanketed in predawn\u2019s purple vacuum. We were camped on a col high above the pines in the Coast Range, a jagged strand of peaks that splinters British Columbia along the Pacific Ocean. We had spent the three days prior working our way to this spot, alternately skiing, cramponing, ski-cramponing and generally MacGyvering across snow and ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t that I didn\u2019t believe in the merits of sunblock\u2014that\u2019s silly. But after applying in the morning, it simply didn\u2019t occur to me that I may need more as each day progressed. I was preoccupied with more pressing safety concerns, and without the cue of a blinding sun, the thought never crossed my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, as I blinked away the sleep, still nestled inside a downy cocoon in my tent, I didn\u2019t need a mirror to confirm what I already knew: I was in for it. Second-degree sunburns entombed my face, from the top of my chest where I hitched down my quarter-zip base layer in the afternoon, plaited across my throat and up to my cheekbones where my sunglasses sat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultraviolet rays had penetrated through the overcast conditions, magnifying off the snow and reflecting off the ice\u2014soaking into my bare skin like magma. Where we traveled across mountains, literally closer to the sky, the UV index had exceeded summertime levels. And it\u2019s not uncommon. Anyone who recreates outside in winter, whether downhill skiing, snowshoeing or even walking the dog, faces similar conditions. The sun\u2019s rays do not hibernate in wintertime, even if it\u2019s colder or darker outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just one myth\u2014that you can\u2019t get sunburned in wintertime\u2014among many this time of year. And it\u2019s the impetus behind the articles that follow. So apply your sunscreen generously and read on as our staffers and co-op members debunk the hardest-hitting myths from the fourth season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013Maren <\/a>Horjus<\/a>, Editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

J<\/strong>ump Ahead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the articles that follow, our squadron of experts sets the record straight on the mysteries of winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n