Quality Ski Goggles Offer Best Protection

Forget your ego and vanity. If you can’t see, you can’t ski or snowboard safely. Proper eye protection for winter recreationists is as important, if not more important, than equipment and clothing.

Mountaineering-style sunglasses (with side protection) or wrap-around goggles should be the first item on your shopping list before venturing into the winter wonderland.

The design of the eyewear should deflect wind, snow and both direct and reflected ultraviolet radiation. Skiers can be exposed to as much as 85 percent of the sun’s UV radiation, depending on elevation and weather. Over-exposure can result in painful, temporary snow blindness or permanent retinal damage.

Your chosen eyewear should remove and block 100 percent of all three types (UVa, UVb and UVc) of ultraviolet radiation.

Besides filtering out UV rays, quality ski goggles also should have a double lens design to to help prevent fogging. Applying an anti-fog coating will help create a surface that will absorb and dissipate moisture more quickly. Remember, too, that scarfs and neck gaiters will direct your body’s warm, moisture-ladened air up through the bottom vent of your goggles, creating increased fogging problems.

Most ski goggles come with interchangeable colored lenses. Learn to wear the correct color for the ski conditions at the time. For obvious reasons, a clear lens is best for night skiing. Gray lenses are good for general use, when depth perception is not as important as perceiving true colors. A brown lens also helps with true color perception, removes blue light waves, and increases contrast similar to a yellow lens. Yellow lenses are best for general skiing conditions when the lighting is flat or hazy, because the yellow color filters out blue light that makes focusing more difficult. Pink lenses also remove blue light and increase the contrast and depth perception in foggy or gray weather conditions.

Only fashion-conscious, uninformed skiers insist on wearing blue or purple lens. Those colors actually increase the harmful characteristics of blue light and decrease a skier’s ability to focus and view contrast.

On the road: Ski vacationers can get recorded highway pass information by calling one of the following numbers:

Washington passes: (900) 407-7277 or (206) 434-7277.

Idaho passes: (208) 772-0531.

Montana passes: (406) 728-8553.

Alberta passes: (403) 471-6056.

British Columbia passes: calls from outside B.C., (604) 525-4997; calls within B.C., (800) 663-4997.

Northwest Travel Conditions Information Line (for WA, ID, MT, WY, and OR): (800) 704-3246.

Kid stuff: When it comes to youngsters, Schweitzer Mountain Resort doesn’t kid around. A new “youth” lift ticket category for children 7-12 was added for this season, resulting in a 40 percent savings for this age group compared to last year.

Also, children 12 and under stay and ski free with many of the lodging packages offered at the resort. For details on youth-oriented programs, call (208) 263-9555.

Deals: Some special packages being offered this winter:

Lookout Pass near Wallace, Idaho, offers a Super Special program, where two people can ski on Thursday and Friday and stay overnight in a Silver Valley lodging facility on Thursday night, starting at $32 a person (based on double occupancy). Prices during the holiday seasons are slightly higher. (208) 556-7211.

Snowbowl near Missoula, Montana, has teamed up with eight Missoula lodging properties to offer ski and stay packages, starting at $35.50 a person, based on double occupancy. Holiday season prices may be higher. (406) 549-9777.

Red Mountain Resort at Rossland, British Columbia offers a ski package with eight lodging locations, ranging from $61 to $175 (approximate U.S. dollars) per person, based on double occupancy during the regular season. Peak season rates are generally $5-10 higher. The packages include two nights accommodations, two days of skiing for each person and all taxes. Three-, five- and seven- day ski packages also are available. (800) 663-0105.

Whitewater ski area near Nelson, British Columbia, has lift and lodging packages starting as low as $30 (approximate U.S. dollars). Prices are per adult person per day, based on double occupancy. (800) 666-9420.

Mark your calendar:

Dec. 15: Free Lesson Day at Snowbowl, (406) 549-9777.

Dec. 16-17: Demo Days (skis and boards) at Lookout Pass, (208) 744-1601.

Dec. 18-19: Northwest Cup Ski Race on Zip Down at Schweitzer Mountain, (208) 263-9555.

Dec. 23: Lookout Pass Free Ski School begins. (208) 744-1601.

Dec. 24: Torchlight Parade at Schweitzer, (208) 263-9555.

Dec. 28: Night skiing begins at Mission Ridge, (509) 663-7631.

Dec. 31: New Years Torchlight Parade at Lookout Pass. Two time zones makes New Years Eve twice the fun. (208) 744-1601.

Jan. 1-31: Kids (ages 15 and under) Ski Free program at Sun Valley, (208) 622-4111 or (800) 786-8259. Some restrictions apply.

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