Ski mountaineering is making its Winter Olympics debut at Milano Cortina 2026

By Angela Schneider, Director, International Centre for Olympic Studies, Western University
Alan C Oldham, PhD Student, International Centre for Olympic Studies, Western University

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortona d'Ampezzo in northern Italy feature eight new medal events and one new official sport: ski mountaineering, or “skimo.”

It’s an endurance sport in which athletes ascend mountains on skis fitted with climbing skins, carry their skis over sections too steep to skin and then descend on alpine terrain. In total, 36 skimo athletes will compete at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio.

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