DENVER — The opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympics is on Friday. This year, ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut. It's the only new sport this year.
An athlete from Colorado will represent Team USA in Milan-Cortina. Cam Smith is an 11-time USA ski mountaineering national champion. Smith is from Crested Butte and works as an instructor at the adaptive sports center there.
Denver7 Sports
Here are the Colorado athletes competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics
Ski mountaineering, or SkiMo, began as a way to travel across mountains in Scandinavia and Alps in Northern Italy and Switzerland. It officially became a sport in the 1980's. In the Olympics, athletes will climb up a mountain on foot and on skis, then ski down. They'll pass over rugged terrain throughout the race. Whoever gets to the end first wins.
The Olympics begin on February 6. You can find a full list of Colorado athletes here.
Your first chance to watch ski mountaineering is on February 19.
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