The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) will be included in the programme of the 9th Asian Winter Games to be held in Harbin, China in 2025. The six sports that will be present at the Games will be Biathlon, Curling, Ice Hockey, Skating, Skiing and Skimo.
Ski Mountaineering was represented at the Youth Olympic Games held in Lausanne in 2020, but it will be at the next Olympic Winter Games, Milano Cortina 2026, where Skimo will make its official Olympic debut, with three medals to be awarded: sprint men, sprint women and mixed relay.
In Harbin, there will be men’s and women’s events across all six sports, as well as mixed events in specific disciplines. Even though the programme for the number of medal events has not been decided yet, the ISMF is working closely with the organizing committee in order to have as many medal events as possible.
The ISMF is dedicated to advancing the sport’s growth and exposure. Inclusion in major multi-sport Games hosted globally opens up greater opportunities for athletes, sponsors, organizers, national federations, and the entire Skimo community.
About the ISMF
Founded in 2007, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation ISMF is the global governing body for ski mountaineering competitions. Since 2016, the organization is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee IOC. Its main goals are the promotion, regulation and development of the ski mountaineering sport worldwide. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the ISMF’s membership consists of 47 national mountaineering or ski sports federations in Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
The ISMF organizes ski mountaineering World Cups events and World Championships. For the first time, ski mountaineering has been a medal sport at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland and has recently been included in the programme of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
