This year’s winter olympics, held in Italy, showcases the talents of many nations’ best participants, but a new sport has been introduced: ski mountaineering. Also referred to as Skimo, this sport features three events: a men’s sprint, a woman’s sprint and a mixed relay.
A special mix (Sprint)
Ski mountaineering is part Alpine skiing, part hiking, and part cross-country skiing where athletes push their endurance and speed to the limits.The athletes must first climb around 70 meters in skis with skins attached, then in their ski boots for the steepest part, as these are made to allow the ankle to flex 60 degrees. The alpine touring boots or Skimo boots have a lock on them which is opened by the athlete, then at the top, locked back securely. The skins must be quickly removed by the participant and the skis put back on after the boots are locked. This can be achieved by pro athletes within 20 seconds. Then the final part is a slalom style of descent, although unlike normal alpine skis, the skis used in skimo are much lighter than normally on these kinds of descent. The sport can also be dangerous as the participants, when descending, must keep control, all while being exhausted from the climb, all lasting around three minutes.
A special mix (Relay)
The relay, on the other hand, lasts between half an hour and three quarters of an hour, where a man and a woman will switch roles beginning with a woman, then alternating to a man then back to a woman, before finally finishing with a man. Each lap will last approximately eight minutes, during which the athlete will climb, descend, climb back up and descend again, before relaying the task to their teammate.
Unstable equipment when downhill
The skis in Skimo are much lighter than normal slalom style skis, which causes them to vibrate, lack stability, and bounce on bumps and moguls. They can also flex when submitted to pressure, resulting in uncontrolled movements. When comparing the Skimo equipment to the standard Slalom equipment, the skimo skis weigh around 1,2 kg less than the slalom ones at 2kg. They also have a much larger turn radius of 20 meters. In exchange for the fast and lighter climb, they lack control downhill, therefore requiring high levels of skill to keep stable.
This year’s events
On February 19, the world will see for the first time skimo in the olympics in the men’s and women’s sprint, whilst the mixed relay will partake two days later on February 21. The key countries participating will be the U.S. and China, of course, then France, Switzerland, the host Italy, Spain and finally Australia. The two favorites in this competition are the French: Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet, though Cardonna Coll and Marianne Fatton both from Spain and Switzerland respectively are strongly favored.
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