The 2026 Games will feature just one new sport in the program: skimo. It follows in the IOC’s tradition of experimentation that has brought us several mainstays, as well as a few oddballs.

There is a good reason why Courchevel, the star of the Trois Vallées, commands a premium over other ski resorts: everything is here in great quantity – from Michelin stars to karaoke bars – and decent snow is guaranteed.

Ski mountaineering is the lone addition to the Olympic program for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. Here's everything to know about the sport.

Ski mountaineering originated not as an organized sport but as a means of survival. For thousands of years, people have worn skis due to the practical need to traverse mountainous or hilly terrain during the snowy winter months.

The sprint is a condensed, explosive version of long-format ski mountaineering races. It features core elements of the sport broken into four sections: an ascent, a diamond section, a portage and a descent.

You'll see many of these on television for the 2026 Winter Olympics too.

If you think downhill skiing is a challenge, wait until you see skimo, a brand-new ski event set to debut in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. In this event, participants wearing specialized lightweight skis and carrying a backpack and other equipment run uphill.

GENEVA (AP) — Olympic winter sports must be played on snow and ice, according to the Olympic Charter. But could a muddy field of play get its chance at a future Winter Games, even as soon as in the French Alps in 2030 or Salt Lake City in 2034?