Olympic ski mountaineering will be held at Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy, the same venue for men's Alpine skiing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. The ski mountaineering area has a viewing capacity of 4,122.

Bormio is in the Lombardy region of Italy, the richest of all Italian regions and known for its many lakes, including Lake Como and Lake Garda. Lombardy is home to Milan, one of Italy's most famous cities, known for its high-end fashion culture. 

While the course layouts officially are not confirmed for ski mountaineering at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, there was an Olympic test event for ski mountaineering in February 2025 with a sprint and mixed relay race at Stelvio. While the elevation and overall lengths of each course will be similar, the course layout is subject to change ahead of the Milan Cortina Games.

Sprint race

At the Olympic test event in Bormio, the layout of the sprint race consisted of four sections in one lap:

• Ascent (A) – skiing uphill with skins on skis
• Bootpack (B) – athletes remove their skis and complete a bootpack section on foot, then another short ascent on skins
• Transition area (C)
• Descent (D) – skiing downhill with turns and gates

Starting altitude: 1,215m (3,986 feet)

Top altitude: 1,285m (4,215 feet)

Elevation gain (on foot): 10m (32 feet)

Descent (on ski): 70cam (230 feet)

Mixed relay:

The course layout for the mixed relay race at the Olympic test event in Bormio contained two ascents and two descents, with one on-foot section in the middle of the second ascent.

Starting altitude: 1,215m (3,986 feet)

Top altitude: 1,295m (4,249 feet)

Steps elevation gain (on foot during second ascent): 10m (32 feet)

Descent (on ski): 135m (443 feet)

After the second descent, there is a relay zone, or handover area to complete a lap of the mixed relay course. Athletes must alternate with their partner between laps to continue their team's race time. Handovers only can take place within the specific area and are done by touching with the hand of the predecessor any part of the body (except the ski poles), including the backpack of the successor. The skis of both athletes must be within the handover area for a legal switch. The athlete finishing the lap is forbidden from crossing the exit line of the handover area and must leave the area within 10 seconds via an exit area.

Before entering the handover area, there is a short ascent that requires athletes to put their race skins back on their skis before entering the handover area. The handover area should be at least 6-10m (~20-30 feet) wide and 15-30m (~50-100 feet) long.

In each race, athletes in order of bib number pick their starting lane and are assigned a lane to start their race. In the mixed relay race, there are six lanes in the front line, followed by a second lane 2.5m (8.2 feet) behind. 

At the start of a sprint race, lanes are marked for the first 10m (33 feet) of the race, with lanes 1-2m (~3-6 feet) wide. Athletes must stay in their lane until leaving the designated area.

Whereas the finish area for the sprint race is the same as the start area, the mixed relay has a separate finish area because of the multiple laps required by a team. On the last lap of the race, the final athlete proceeds directly to the finish line without adding their skins.

The weather drastically could affect a ski mountaineering race due to temperature, precipitation, or dangerous conditions. All athletes are required to carry avalanche prevention equipment for safety. In case of an extreme weather event, the race can be postponed until conditions are safe. If the wind chill reaches -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), a race will not start and must be cancelled if the weather forecast does not expect temperatures to rise significantly or for winds to die down.

According to the ISMF rule book, "For the sprint, the ISMF Race Jury, in order to make the race shorter and safer in the case of bad weather conditions, can take the decision to go directly to the final after the qualification stage with the best-six places from the qualification. The ISMF Race Jury should take this decision before the start of the race and communicate it to the coaches and athletes, except in the case of sudden reasons that can suggest taking this decision later."

Ski mountaineers pick different equipment in varying temperatures and conditions of snow, such as different skin materials or the length of the skins. If a bootpacking stretch of a race is too icy, the race jury can decide if crampons are mandatory to give athletes better traction.