Often referred to as "skimo," ski mountaineering is the only new sport debuting at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, combining elements of Alpine and cross-country into a ski race with physical and technical challenges. Athletes complete a set course, consisting of an ascent, descent, and a foot section with skis attached to an athlete’s backpack. 

During the ascent, athletes have skins on their skis, which help them grip the snow to climb up the course. On-foot sections require the athletes to remove their skis and complete the section in their boots. For the descent, athletes remove their skins and complete the downhill section of the course, which contains gates. Most events consist of a variety of stages including heats, semifinals and a final, with the fastest athlete in the final being declared the winner.

Three disciplines are debuting in ski mountaineering at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games: a men's and women's sprint event, and a mixed relay event.

Quicker than most ski mountaineering races, the sprint format consists of one uphill section, one on-foot section, and one downhill section, featuring an elevation change of up to 70 meters (230 feet).

The mixed relay format, with teams of one man and one woman ski mountaineering athlete, contains two ascents (one ascent includes an on-foot section) and two descents. Each athlete competes the course twice, with the woman athlete starting the race and the man athlete finishing the race. After completing a loop, an athlete tags their teammate to swap on the race course. The team with the fastest overall time wins.

Historically, the countries along the alps (France, Italy and Switzerland) are the most dominant in ski mountaineering. At the 2025 Ski Mountaineering World Championships, France took home 10 medals (four gold), followed by Switzerland taking home seven medals (three gold).

In the men's sprint discipline, Spain's Oriol Cardona Coll took home the gold medal in the world championships. Aditionally, he won the ISMF World Cup title, including a victory at the Olympic test event in Bormio, making him a contender for the gold medal in Milan Cortina.

Hailing from France, Emily Harrop swept every World Cup women's sprint event during the 2024-25 season, making the podium in three disciplines at the 2025 World Championships and taking home her fourth consecutive overall World Cup title. Her relay partner, Thibault Anselmet, took home his third consecutive men's overall title, and the two won the mixed relay at the 2025 World Championships. Their top competitor in the mixed relay at the Milan Cortina Games is Cardona Coll and Ana Alonso Rodriguez, Spain's top duo in the mixed relay who won the mixed relay World Cup title and the Olympic test event.

All Ski mountaineering will take place at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy, the same venue for all men's Alpine skiing events at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. Bormio hosted the Olympic test event for the sport in February 2025.