The 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games will mark the beginning of a bright future for ski mountaineering (skimo), Olalla Cernuda, Head of Media and Communications of the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) told Xinhua.

In June 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially added skimo to the 2026 Winter Olympics. The ISMF is currently working on a qualifying process and waiting for approval from the IOC to begin the Olympic Qualifying Tournament during the 2023-24 season.

Thanks to the close relationship with the organizing committee of Milano Cortina 2026 and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), ISMF is confident to showcase the modern look of this time-honored sport.

"There will be three medal events of two disciplines in the coming Winter Olympics. Sprint includes all the sections in a full course of skimo, but the competition will be shorter and also faster," Cernuda said in a virtual interview.

"The audience will easily feel the intensity, no matter whether they have tried this sport or not. What is even more beautiful is that female and male athletes will compete together in the mixed relay. This gender-equality-focused discipline helps close the gender gap in top-level sports events," she added.

While skimo adapts itself to follow the trend, it also brings new elements to the world.

Different from those global popular snow sports which are mainly based on gliding down slopes, skimo starts from ascending. Participants will climb uphill with or without the help of skinned skis, then pack the removable skins, switch the binding to descent mode and enjoy downhill skiing on a piste or off-piste.

Zhang Yaohua, vice manager of the Chinese national team, said, "Hikers won't be blocked from the tracks by deep snow, skiing amateurs won't be limited on groomed pistes, mountaineers will be able to transit certain high-risked terrain and descend after peaking with efficiency. The technics could be mastered in resorts or on small hills where safety is not a concern. On the other hand, beginners will be motivated to learn how to identify and reduce the potential hazard of wild winter, for example, avalanches."

This is probably the exact reason that skimo was born around the Alps and has been popular for decades in the countries closing by. The deep historical roots and increasing popularity in Italy built skimo access to Milano Cortina 2026.

Cernuda said IMSF has a global version.

"We have been working closely with the Chinese Mountaineering Association for years. The natural resources of mountain sports in China are massive. In 2019, a stage of the ISMF World Cup took place in China. Recently, we are discussing with our member associations of China and Japan, to see the possibility of holding more high-level events in Asia."

Talking about the first-ever ISMF Youth World Cup which was finished last weekend in Italy, Cernuda has no hesitation in admiring the Chinese team. "This is the first time that Asian athletes won the gold in an event of this level. And of course, it's also the first time that these many Chinese athletes reach the podium," he stated.

Chinese Cidan Yuzhen won the women's U18 Vertical Race with a dominating style, leading the runner-up for almost one minute and a half.

"Vertical Race is a single ascent completed entirely on skis using skins. Lower requirement of experience and multiple technics benefits the Chinese. Opposite their European competitors, most Chinese athletes transferred from other sports, they have trained for skimo for only a few years," Cernuda said.

"Cidan Yuzhen is very strong, and it's easy to tell how hard she has worked in training. But don't get me wrong, I'm not implying that Chinese athletes lack skills. They won five gold, one silver and three bronze medals in the entire Youth World Cup, in Vertical Race and Individual Race," he added.

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