OLYMPICS

Ski Mountaineering: The Newest Olympic Sport

Charlie Zschau Updated: Jan 08 2026 23:25

Ski Mountaineering will make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, here's everything you need to know.

Milan Cortina 2026 will make its mark on the history the Olympic games by adding Ski Mountaineering to the program for the very first time.

Ski mountaineering has grown as a global sport in recent years after it held it's first World Championships in France in 2002. The World Championships are now held every two years, and will feature in the winter Olympic games every four years.

The sport is governed by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) which has 38 affiliated national federations.

Team USA's Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) team will be headlined by Cameron Smith, who became the first North American to medal at an ISMF World Cup race in 2022.

Griffin Briley is also a rising star on the US Skimo team. Briley won three races and earned four medals at the 2025 World Championships.

Olympic Competitions

Women's Sprint	Men's Sprint
Mixed Relay

Ski Mountaineering Basic Rules/Format

Sprint: The Sprint races will feature an ascent and descent. The ascent will consist of three stages with athletes skiing uphill, before taking their skis off and putting them on their backpacks to conquer a set of steps. The final stage of the ascent will see the competitors put their skis back on to climb even further before taking off their skins and descending to the finish line.

Their are various elimination rounds before the medals are awarded at the final competition.

Mixed Relay: The mixed relay features two ascents and two descents, plus a section on foot with skis attached to the athletes back.

Ski Mountaineering Olympic Schedule

Thursday, February 19

3:50 AM EST	Women's Sprint Heats
4:30 AM EST	Men's Sprint Heats
6:55 AM EST	Women's Sprint Semifinals
7:25 AM EST	Men's Sprint Semifinals
7:55 AM EST	Women's Sprint Final🏅
8:15 AM EST	Men's Sprint Final🏅