Excerpt from A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine, by Dr. Eric A. Weiss.

Head trauma and brain injury can result from direct impact or from the shearing forces produced by rapid deceleration. When your head hits a hard object such as a boulder, the impact can fracture the skull, bruise the brain, or cause severe bleeding inside the brain from damaged blood vessels. Shearing forces from sudden deceleration of the brain against the inside of the skull can also tear blood vessels on the surface of the brain, leading to an expanding blood clot and pressure on the brain (intracranial pressure).

Excerpt from A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine, by Dr. Eric A. Weiss.

Fractures of the neck and spine can damage the spinal cord and lead to permanent paralysis. Any accident that places excessive force or pressure on the head, neck, or back, such as a fall, head injury, or diving accident, can also result in a fracture of the spine.

Excerpt from A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine, by Dr. Eric A. Weiss.

Snow blindness is a sunburn to the eye from intense ultraviolet radiation at high altitude or while traveling in the snow which results in a corneal abrasion.

Unfortunately, you are unaware that the injury is occurring until it is too late, because signs and symptoms of snow blindness are delayed by about six hours from the time of exposure to the light. Wearing adequate eye protection (100% UV blocking sunglasses with side protectors) can prevent snow blindness.