The Olympics’ newest and most exciting sport is here: ski mountaineering. Ski mountaineering (skimo) is a sport not only new to the Olympics, but also new to the world. It tests both physical and mental abilities: human endurance, teamwork, and technical skills.
In a skimo race, athletes begin in altered downhill skis with grippy skins on the bottoms. They work to ascend a mountain as quickly as possible, pushing their way up. When they reach sleeper sections, they take their skis off and hike or even climb. Once they reach the peak of the mountain, they rip their skins off and ski back down the mountain to the finish line. Races can last from three minutes to over three hours. Endurance is tested in longer races as athletes push themselves in freezing temperatures. Technical skills are important as well, as each equipment switch can lead to lost time. Racers learn to switch skis and skins in seconds.
This year in the Olympics, there will be three types of races. There are men's and women's sprints: shorter races under five minutes where athletes sprint on their skins up a short mountain, quickly remove their skis for a harder section, then re-equip and ski down in a marked gate descent. There is also the more endurance-based two-person team relay race. This race lasts at least three hours for the fastest team, and includes a double descent course that will have to be completed by each member of a team. A team consists of a man and a woman, who each have to skin, walk, descend, skin again, walk again, and then descend once more. The path is less marked compared to the shorter races and more treacherous, making each team fight harder for the gold.
Team USA has entered a powerful duo into the relay event this year: Cameron Smith and Anna Gibson. Smith is the veteran of the pair. From Illinois, he has won eleven US Ski Mountaineering national championships, and five North American Ski Mountaineering ones, as well as the course record for the three biggest American skimo races. He is matched with Gibson, a newcomer to the sport. Gibson began as a college cross-country and track star, building up her repertoire with numerous American distance racing course records. She met Smith after beating him in the USA Vertical Championships, a mountain running race. He connected her to skimo, and they landed themselves in the Olympics this year.
Skimo will be an interesting new sport to watch; it mixes the endurance found in Nordic skiing with the technique of curling. Many countries, including the United States, will be fighting to claim the title of the first-ever Olympic skimo champion.