As Diffusion Sport reports, ski mountaineering, or ski touring, may be on its way to the Winter Olympics. Dating back to the early 20th century, the sport combines mountain climbing, on or off skis, with alpine skiing on the way back down. Its governing body is the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), which was established in 2008, with the merging of two previous bodies, and now boasts a membership extending to 35 countries. The ISMF applied to the International Olympic Committee in 2017 for the sport’s inclusion in the Winter Olympics. So far it has secured a place in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), whose third edition – with ski mountaineering – took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, in January. This is a good sign for the athletes, as several recent additions to Olympics – three-on-three basketball, karate, the new pentathlon, etc. – have gone first to the YOG. As Diffusion Sport sees things, it is possible that ski mountaineering will figure in the list of sports for the 2026 games in Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, but the 2030 games are more likely to see its debut.
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