Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board contacts or glasses

sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but i was just offered a spot on by boss's permit for next week and have "zero" experience with altitude hikes. it's probably not the best way to attack mt. whitney but i'll give it a shot.

my question is...

should i plan on wearing my prescription glasses or can i make it with contacts? i'll probably take the glasses anyway but just wanted to know if anyone has experience wearing contacts at that altitude. thanks.

I don't wear glasses when hiking (sunglasses), but friends who wear contacts have a hard time when it is windy and grit is in the air. When I hiked up to Trail Camp last July the winds were pretty outrageous and stuff was really blowing. I would think contacts would not be the thing. I would also suspect the air is quite dry and that might cause problems????

If you can drop by your eye doctor and pick up some 1 day disposible lenses or some overnight lenses you can just leave in while you are there (like Ciba night/ day lenses) Many of my friends have worn their contacts up on the mountain. The only problem is there eyes dry out and feel irritated sometimes...take re wetting drops.

It would be hard to imagine glasses would be a better option, unless you wear them a lot. In higher powers, glasses can give a lot of peripheral distortion problems. This is mostly a problem when you don't wear them often and are not used to them.

Thanks for the advice.

Depends on whether you wear hard or soft contacts. Years ago, I wore both the original PMMA hard contacts and later the PMMA/silicone RGP (rigid gas permeable) lenses. With either of those, I was VERY sensitive to dry air and dust or grit in the wind. Wouldn't want to wear those on a tall dusty gritty trail like Whitney.

Now that I wear soft lenses, I'm much less sensitive to grit and dust, and the dry air doesn't seem to bother me as much, either. I wore my soft contacts up to Whitney in 2001 and had no problems.

One of these years when I try McKinley, I'll probably have my ophthalmologist get me some extended-wear lenses instead of the daily-wear type I use now...less handling and no worries about solutions freezing overnight.

I wear hard (rigid gas permeable) contacts and have never had a problem with dust or grit on countless backpacks, including many up Whitney. The only place I've had trouble is in the desert during sandstorms. Wetting drops are important, as is washing your hands well before putting contacts in or taking them out. Also, use a flashlight to make sure they are really in the case before you close it up at night for bed, to make sure they didn't bounce out in your tent.
(As my trailname suggests, my eyesight is less than perfect <g>.)
AsABat

I wear a soft daily-wear lense in my right eye and my left eye was corrected about 12 years ago with R.K. surgery. I summitted via the main trail (dayhike)this last October with no problems whatsoever with either eye. My partner wears gas-permeable and had no problems either. He takes his lenses out nightly but I sleep in mine on back-country trips of up to 2-3 weeks. I was more concerned with the changes of pressure on my surgically corrected eye but it's just not been an issue. Just wear good sunglasses, carry wetting solution and stay well hydrated and you'll be fine.

I wear contacts in the mountains regularly with no issues. Mine are the 'daily disposable' type and I don't sleep in them. Sunglasses and Glacier Glasses are great for glare and for moderate conditions check out the 'sheilds' that are worn by most triathletes. REI sells them I think (a windbreaker for your eyes).

Have fun and enjoy!!!

If, for whatever reason, you end up wearing your prescription glasses (either for a short time or for the whole trip), they shouldn't be a problem (unless they are *lined* bifocals -- see below). I currently have "high powered" lineless trifocals and have absolutely no problem with any distortion (while hiking or otherwise) -- probably because I'm not looking through the periphery when I'm hiking forward. You would only have problems with peripheral distortion if you hike with your head facing left or right at the same time. The only problem I had with any glasses while hiking was when I previously wore a pair of *lined* bifocals. In this case, not only did the line get in the way of looking for my footing on the trail as I walked forward, but the non-gradual switching-back-and-forth between the distance and close-up portions of the lenses while doing this played havoc with my ability to see exactly where I was about to place my foot in certain situations.

As others have said, if you wear your contacts, take some rewetting solution. High altitude sucks moisture out of everything.

I wear graduated (no-line) trifocals, from which I've never had distortion. However, the fogging from perspiration is very irritating. I've tried "Cat Crap" to eliminate the fogging, but it only lasts for about 20 - 30 minutes before I have to give them another application.

Does anyone have a solution to keep glasses from fogging other than "Cat Crap?" I sometimes use daily wear contacts when I hike, but then it's hard to read a map without carrying reading glasses.

I had no problems with my hard contacts when heading up Whitney but had to use re-wetting solution and had my eyeglasses readily accessible in my daypack. I recently switched to a 30 day extended soft contact (made by Day and Night) and am quite pleased with them.