snow blindness

American  

noun

1. the usually temporary dimming of the sight caused by the glare of reflected sunlight on snow.

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Other Word Forms

• snow-blind adjective

Etymology

Origin of snow blindness

First recorded in 1740–50

Example Sentences

Haidri said a Pakistani mountaineer, Asif Bhatti, was stranded on Nanga Parbat because of snow blindness, and efforts were underway to rescue him.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 4, 2023

Severson hadn’t brought sunglasses and didn’t consider the threat of snow blindness until the drive home, when he felt like “screaming.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2023

Everyone who visits must undergo safety training to learn about dangers such as frostbite, hypothermia and snow blindness.

From Washington Post • Sep. 24, 2019

He wore dark glasses because he suffered snow blindness as a young man in Siberia, where his family was exiled by the Soviets.

From Reuters • May 29, 2014

Yet in 1924 a member of the third British expedition, Edward Felix Norton, reached an elevation of 28,126 feet—just 900 feet below the summit—before being defeated by exhaustion and snow blindness.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer