glasses and contact lenses

[Jon_Bernard]

I'm looking for advice on what eyewear to take on an upcoming two week mountaineering course in the Cascades. On backpacking trips I've always worn my everyday glasses, but the combo of contact lenses + nonprescription glacier glasses seems more convenient and cheaper than the two pair of prescription glacier glasses I'd have to buy. (Two pair because I'd be helpless without glasses.) What do you other nearsighted climbers do?

[hikerwa]

I have the Accuvue contacts, when I go on long trips i just wear them the whole time, and bring plenty of eyedrops. the beauty of the disposable contacts is that I can bring an extra pair of two...

[Dru]

take regular glasses and buy a $30 CDN pair of mountaineering 'fitovers' at MEC. i use em for all mountaineering and it is so much cheaper than prescription glacier glasses, plus if they get scratched or smashed by rockfall, just buy another pair, also you can take off the fitover part in the dark and not be blind.

[savaiusini]

Back in '97 I went to Canada to get LASIK surgery. $1200 bucks got both eyes done. I was 20/200 in my GOOD eye before the surgery; extremely nearsighted. Now both eyes see 20/15. It was absolutely the best money I've ever spent! Quick, almost painless, instant gratification. I know several others who've had it done and they've had great results as well. If you can, look into it. Free consults will determine if you are eligible for the surgery, mainly whether your cornea is thick enough to work on. I know this won't help you in the short term for your course, but I'm definitely a believer now.

Best of luck whatever you do!

[This message has been edited by savaiusini (edited 07-19-2001).]

[terrible_ted]

I had a pair of prescription polarized sunglasses made this last year. They aren't quite as dark as I'd like for spending full days of full sun on snow and ice, but even so, I've spent full days on the glaciers wearing them without any problems. Polarization offers a lot of protection without as much apparent darkening or opacity. I don't really switch around much through the day: once the sunglasses are on, I'll wear them until just before dark.

It is so much easier than dealing with contacts that I don't think I'll go back. I hate trying to put in contacts at 3am when it's subfreezing out and I'm no fan of sleeping with them in (dehydrated with contacts in is a receipe for an eye infection, at about the worst possible time...) and trying to dissolve the morning eyeball superglue. A disclaimer though: I did it for over a decade without incident.

It ain't cheap, though, so see if your boss offers a 'medical savings account' - it'll cut the cost of prescripts. by about a third.

[Erwin]

Jon Bernard,

I am interested in taking a mountaineering class as well. Sorry to change the subject, but being a newbie to the Cascades I do not know the best way to go about taking a class. Any beta would help. Thanks

[verticalswamp]

I've done the fitovers thing, as well as contacts and regular sunnnies. I usually end up taking everything if it's a big trip. My only suggestion would be take alco-prep pads to clean your fingers with before you handle your contacts. For a trip that long, I'd take everything, if you lose/break anything it would suck big time. I've put in contacts in some pretty wild places at a bunch of different elevations and temps, and so far no worries. The only thing that sucks is being on the sharp end and getting crap in your eyes.

[specialed]

I'm looking into the Lasek thing. SO nice not to have to deal with contacts, glasses, prescription sunglasses, etc. Probably save money in the long run.

[Curtis_Baxstrom]

Regarding Lasik, be careful as one of the most common side effects is dry eyes/increased dry eyes. With Lasik the cornea is denervated(nerves cut to surface) and thus your eye doesn't know when it is dry. Thus you can easily get corneal abrasions secondary to dryness and decreased visual acuity at times. Good reason to use glacier glasses with sideshields. I've had lasik and experience alot of dryness, I actually need to put drops in regularly just as when wearing extended wear accuvue contacts. A new procedure called "intacts" is probably going to be a better alternative to lasik as only a small portion of the cornea may be denervated. They actually put two small plastic rings in the cornea which pull the cornea flat reducing they nearsightedness. Another advantage is that it is reversible, they can just take them out and you won't know the difference. One other advantage is that you won't as likely get any aberrations(halo's around lights) as with Lasik as no tissue is burned and/or removed from the cornea. Good Luck!

[Jon_Bernard]

LASIK would have to have a failure rate of about 1 in a million for me to consider it. Even then ...

Curtis, do you have any pointers to info re "intacts"?

As for contacts, has anyone used Bausch & Lomb's Purevisions or Ciba's Night and Days (only available in Canada and Europe, I think) in the mountains?

I probably will end up taking everything, but keep the advice coming! My optometrist can only speculate about what might be best, so I appreciate the practical information.

[Beck]

Prescription sunglasses can be had for less than 175.00 US just buy a set of Julbo round frames and ask your optitian to get you some glass high altitude lenses- made at one lab in US, cleveland I think, and those run about 90-120 US. Will last for a long time, when you need a backup sunglass go with the fitovers or dark goggles w/ your regular glasses and you'll be backed up for less than 200 bills.

[verticalswamp]

I've read some real horror stories about Lasik fubar's. In general, invasive techniques involving your eyes are a BAD idea. This from someone with a father who oughta be getting frequent flyer points for the number of eye surgeries he's had. Trust me on this one, say no to knives. (Yeah it's a laser, but it's still the same idea)

[Rodchester]

A topic near and dear to me. I have tried all of the ways, contacts, prescription glacier glasses, and ski goggles over glasses.

1) As far as mountainering goes, contacts suck. Too much care, get too dirty, and dry out at higher altitudes. I know some people who still use contacts, but most I know have abandoned them.

2) Ski goggles over glasses, good in winter bad all other times. Fog up and too damn hot.

3) Prescription glasses are the way to go. I have worn them for years. I originally owned a pair of the basic round julbos. Got them for $40 and put prescription lenses in them. I am not sure about the suggestion of "high altitude" lenses. I have taken mine to 19 & 20 on more than a few occasions with no problem.

Get 95% to 100% UV a b c protection and a dark lens with low light transmission. The package on CEBE gives the tranmsion ratio. I just ordered a new pair today actaully. Also get them with plastic lenses with anti-scratch coating. I have had my lenses done twice for $60.00 plus tax. Total price for $100.00. No need to pay more for fancy shit.

Trust me, it is liberating to have the glasses. Then keep one pair of contacts and cheapo glacier glasses as a back up.

good luck

[haireball]

for over 20 years, about half of that guiding, and on expeditions to Denali (twice) and Aconcagua, I've used photo-gray prescription lenses with excellent results. they get very dark in bright light, and clear in low light. I couldn't wear contacts if I wanted to (astigmatism), but I wouldn't have it any other way. The glasses are eye protection when I would otherwise have to wear goggles or glacier glasses anyway. The one accommodation I have made to glaciers and altitude is that I make side-shields out of duct-tape, which I remove at the end of the trip. Since these are my everyday lenses, this means the only change I ever have to make in my eyewear is the tape side-shields for glacier and altitude trips.

[nolanr]

I mostly wear contacts, glasses on occasion, and I can't get over the irriation of fogged up lenses in colder weather or constant wiping of the lenses on blustery, foggy days where there's lots of moisture in the air. I'll take the difficulties of contacts any day over prescription glasses.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Glasses.

[David_Parker]

I'm a contact lens person all the way. I wear daily wear because I don't believe it's good to have them in all the time. More suceptable to infection, irritation. Pus Daily wear "breathe" better and I don't need to add drops as frequently. But if I fall asleep in them then I need a putty knife to get them off......so on trips where I think it will be majorly inconvenient, I also have extended wear. Then I don't have to worry about dirty fingers or putting them in in freezing cold at 3:00 am. Each Contact lens person has to know what works for them because everyone has different issues with dryness. I always carry tiny little squirt bottles for rewetting. I also always carry one spare set of glasses.

It's funny but my common sense says just get lasik, but I'd rather lead out 50 ft on a rusty 1/4 inch bolt than take the chance! I can't explain why I'm such a pussy when it comes to lasik! This new inplant thing sounds cool. Think I'll wait another year to see what technology arises! DPP

 

[mtnrgr]

The eye chart is just one big gray blob to me.

I just got a pair of prescription Jublo Micropore from Opticus in CO for $300, which is about as much as I pay for regular glasses. I love glasses for the all time protection from sticks and dust. I'm in the Army, and I don't know how many times my eyes have been saved from a tree branch, while stumbling around the woods in the middle of the night.

I'm hoping to get lasik, but had questions about the effect of altitude and cold (not just in mountaineering, but for sky diving, too).

[Cpt.Caveman]

Hey Ranger,

Get on the LomLog and swim in da wormpit

Do you like those goofy looking black rubber wraparound glasses?

-CPT

[Dan_Larson]

Hey Caveman , How do you know about the wormpit. Were you there at Benning . I was back in "78" HOOOOAHHHHH!!!

[Wopper]

Birth Control glasses rock. I have a pair that I use for running, riding, climbing, working in the yard etc. They cost me $38(U.S. Dru)and I don't care if I break them because of the cheapnes. Of course I have all the above listed problems and have a pair of prescription glacier glasses as well but at least if these break or are lost they are cheap to replace. Plus, chicks dig 'em.

By the way mtnrngr, stumbling through the woods while on patrol doesn't do much for noise discipline.

[Rodchester]

mtnrgr,

A note on Lasix and other surgeries. If you wish to do high altitude mountaineering I would NOT get it done.

For a quick reference see Beck Weathers, in Krakauer's "into thin air." Further research, funded by the AAC has shown there to be problems with many of the yee surgeries at altitude. I believe it has to do with pressure, but it has been a year since I read the last study excerpt.

As far as skydiving goes, no problem. It does take a bit of time for the eye to shut down from the problem. If I recall correctly, it can really vary on the person and their eyes, and the surgery (amount of shaping required).

Anyway with skydiving you rarely go over 10,000 and almost never over 14,000. There is one place south of Tuscon AZ that will routinely take you to 14,000. Your total time at altitude is minutes.

Now if you are talking about SF HALO Oxygen jumps you may have a problem. But I doubt SF/Delta would take anyone for a HALO team that has had the surgery anyway. When I tried out for Delta it was clear that you had to have 20/20 uncorrected. While SF was 20/20 corrected with some limitations (I think 20/60 uncorrected with astigmatism) and no surgeries. Granted that was quite some time ago.

Anyway good luck...

[specialed]

Its the original laser surgery technology that causes prob's at altitude, not lasek. I've climbed with someone at 19,500 who had lasek and had no problems. From everything I've heard and read, its totally safe.

[This message has been edited by specialed (edited 07-20-2001).]

[mtnrgr]

I love when my Go Fasters fog up in these damn WA winters. Fogged up glasses, fogged up NODs, I can't see shit. Now what you guys need is some good ol' DRY Rocky Mtn weather. Remember Utah has "the best snow on earth", at least that's what the liscense plates say.

Thanks Rodchester. I seriously considering SF. From what I've heard is you can't go to SFAS, Delta, or Ranger School with any eye surgeries, but SOCOM is paying for LASIK in Bragg.

[Rodchester]

specialed,

I would be cautious on any eye surgery. You are right that MOST of the research has been done on the older radial caritotimy (SP?). There simply has not been enough research on newer surgieries like Lasix.

Your budy at 19,000 was likely there for summit and then descended to 16,000 or so, correct? Point is, is that usually the real problems come with a sustained stay. So if you plan on hitting things in the Himalaya, 7000 meters and up, you will likley spend a large part of time at basecamps located at 18,000 ft and up. Then more time at higher camps. This is where MOST of the problems have occurred.

So if you plan on staying in the uSA and maybe nailing some Andean peaks, you SHOULD be fine. There is a risk and it is not proven. Simple fact is, you cannot undo it.

I plan on doing Cho oyo next fall, glad I haven't have it done.

my send set of pennies....