If you decided to head to the Sierra and enjoy some summer skiing, be sure to put on extra sun screen!

The sun angle is greater this time of year, meaning the sun is higher in the sky, positioned more over head, increasing the potential for burns. Plus, the suns rays also reflect off of snow. This is called 'Albedo' defined as a surfaces ability to reflect the suns radiation. Snow has a high 'Albedo' reflecting anywhere from 80% to 90% of the suns rays...bouncing it right back at you on the slopes! This, as you can imagine also intensifies burn potential. Surfaces like fresh asphalt have very low Albedo, reflecting less than 4% of the suns radiation. Instead, dark surfaces like asphalt, absorb energy. That is why asphalt burns your feet during the summer! That is also why wearing a black shirt on a 100 degree day is a bad idea! It will make you hotter!