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Skimo News – Dec 25, 2019: 1st World Cup And North American Races Of The Season

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Iwan Arnold running away with the win in the sprint race in France. ISMF photo.

This is our first recap of the 2020 skimo racing season!

We are looking forward to bringing you results and analysis of both North American and International races again this winter.

Whether you are an athlete or race organizer, please, let us know if you’d like to help contribute news from events (especially from the women’s field). Don’t hesitate to reach out via SkinTrack’s Facebook Messenger.

International Race News

ISMF World Cup – Aussois, France – Dec 20-21, 2019:

Individual and Sprint Races

The first stage of the ISMF World Cup opened this weekend in France with an individual and sprint events.

The first day (individual race) was marked by difficult weather conditions that necessitated a course reduction. Robert Antonioli (ITA) and Axelle Gachet-Mollaret (FRA) each ran away with their respective senior victories. The men’s podium was rounded out by Matteo Eydallin (ITA) and Werner Marti (SUI), and the women’s podium by Marianne Fatton (SUI) and by the young Guilia Murada (ITA).

Axelle Mollaret battling strong winds during the individual race. ISMF photo.

The sprint event was featured on TV in Europe, with better weather than the previous day. The Swiss team performed very well with Iwan Arnold and Marion Fatton winning the senior events. Robert Antonioli (ITA) and Damiano Lenzi (ITA) chased hard but had to settle for 2nd and 3rd. Déborah Chiarello (SUI) and Marianna Jagercikova (SVK) took the podium in the women’s race.

North Americas were represented in the individual race by Sierra Anderson (USA) who placed 10th in the senior women’s race and Grace Staberg (USA) who placed 3rd in the junior women’s event! Sierra finished 13th in the sprint while Grace notched another top-10 with an 8th place finish.

> Full results for both events

USA and Canada Race News

Wolf Creek Skimo – Colorado – Dec 14, 2019:

Thirty-one racers met at the Wolf Creek Ski Area for December’s COSMIC race.

Scott Archer won the overall in snowy conditions with Arthur Whitehead just two-seconds behind in the nearly two and a half hour race, with Paul Mumford in third. Leora Wallace won solidly over Ashley Carruth and Gina Base.

> Full results

Vert180 – Calgary, Canada – Dec 7, 2019:

Vert180 changed its format slightly and now the event lasts 120 minutes instead of the original 180.

The traditional season opener in Canada requires athletes to repeat laps of about 120m vertical on the Canada Olympic Park ski hill in Calgary. The winning men completed 14 laps total with Tyson Smith taking the win over Peter Knight and Nathan Smith in third. Marg Fedyna completed 10 laps to win over Alison Walford and Martha Burley.

> Full results

Upcoming North American Events

Castle Mountain Skimo Race – Alberta, Canada – Jan 4/5, 2020:

The Castle races feature an Individual and Sprint event. The individual race offers difficult skinning followed by a ridge-top portion on foot – usually accompanied by cold winds. The descents are fast and steep with a finish down the powder cat skiing terrain. Expect good competition between athletes from the Rockies, the Coast, and usually a few from Montana!

For accommodation at Castle visit StayCastle.ca

Heathen Challenge – Colorado – Jan 4, 2020:

This is one of the bigger races in Colorado at Sunlight Ski Area. Expect big climbs and difficult off piste descents and the infamous Heathen descent to the finish.

Best Terrain for Skimo Intensity Interval Training: Groomed Ski Runs or Skin Tracks?

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Regularly including various technical aspects of skimo racing in your workouts is crucial to your improvement. ISMF photo.

In any competitive sport, once you want to improve your speed beyond a certain plateau, you will have to incorporate regular high intensity sessions into your training (Zone 3 to Zone 5).

Skimo is no different and its various technical aspects introduce even more complexity compared to running or cycling. Skimo race courses travel across a variety of terrain, with most including technical climbing than just going straight up groomed runs.

With that, you might be wondering whether you should do your intensity interval workouts on nicely groomed runs or in a skin track?

Comparing Terrain: Groomed Ski Runs vs Skin Tracks

Comparing the two, by looking only at the terrain, the difference is obvious. Groomed ski runs are easy to climb up even for a skimo novice while skinning in a skin track requires more skill, especially, if your are trying to go fast.

Here are a couple of less obvious points how skinning between these two “terrain types” differs:

  • It’s easy to set into a steady rhythm for long periods of time on a groomed run. Skin tracks with switchbacks break your rhythm often, whether that be your breathing or your stride.
  • Having a consistent skin traction and grip on a groomed run is much easier than in a skin track because keeping good balance is less challenging.
  • Skin tracks usually have switchbacks, thus, your proficiency in kick-turns is crucial to maintaining your speed throughout the climb or high intensity interval.

We can point out more differences but the bottom line is that skin tracks require you to be a much more proficient and technically skilled athlete than groomed ski runs.

Click above to check out our Skimo Manual for proven skimo training tips and advice.

How To Choose The Best Terrain For Your Interval Training?

Now that we are clear on the difference of the terrain types, let’s take a look at how you should decide which workouts to do on groomed ski runs and which ones in skin tracks with kick-turns.

Consider Your Goals and Upcoming Races

The two most important factors when “designing” your intensity workout should be:

  • The goals you have for that workout as part of your overall training goals.
  • What type of terrain you expect in your upcoming important races?

It should be obvious that if you are training for vertical races primarily then performing intervals in skin tracks is not critical to your improvement. In fact, in this case, it might be even be detrimental.

The opposite is true if you are training for technical race or a classic European skimo race like the Pierra Menta. PM’s courses take place almost exclusively in skin tracks and the race includes many technical aspects overall.

Interval Workouts Suitable for Groomed Ski Runs

Early season interval workouts, at least the first few of the season, are best done on less technical terrain, otherwise, you might simply not be able to hold the required intensity for long enough (which is crucial for further progress).

VO2max, or Zone 4 high intensity intervals (5x 5min), are also better performed on ski runs because holding the high intensity for the entire length of the interval is very important in developing your VO2max.

Another example would be maximum speed sprint-style intervals (30x 30sec full-out efforts), it would be counter productive to perform them in a skin track. After all, the goal with these is to generate as much power as possible so it’s best when the snow surface is very supportive and consistent.

Interval Workouts Suitable for Skin Tracks

As already discussed above, depending on your goals and upcoming races, there are times when you can enhance your improvement by performing certain interval intensity sessions inside skin tracks with kick-turns.

If your goal race is a couple of weeks away and you know it will have plenty of skin track skinning, then completing your long intervals (3x 10min of Zone 3) and your high intensity intervals (5x 5min of Zone 4) using the same terrain as the race course, will make you feel strong and confident when the race day comes.

Once you achieve a certain level of technical proficiency, occasionally moving your interval workouts into technical terrain will continue to enhance your skimo progress. As long as you are able to hold the prescribed intensity, in any terrain, you will greatly benefit by matching the race environment as close as possible.

Click above to learn more about our various skimo training resources and training plans. From interval workouts to technique, they provide you with proven tips and advice to help you improve your skimo racing quickly.

Early Season vs Race Season

Early in the season, the priority of your interval workouts should be on building your engine. Work on your technique during the long, easy Zone 1 sessions. Create the best possible conditions (including terrain choice) for a given workout to gain the maximum benefits for the time you spend. Just like you wouldn’t do Zone 4 intervals using your powder ski gear, you don’t want to choose terrain that prevents you from keeping the required intensity or speed.

As your season progresses and your goal races are approaching, design your workouts around the demands of those races. Unless you want to be a pure vertical race specialist, you will need to develop your technical skills while you are breathing heavily and your balance is compromised. Besides, the technical aspects are what makes skimo so appealing and interesting.

Sprint Race Training

Skimo sprints are a special kind of races that require great technique at high speed in quickly changing terrain.

They seem simple at the first glance because they take only 3-5min, however, even without considering the many transitions, a sprint race is arguably the most challenging event to perform successfully on consistent basis.

With that, performing high intensity intervals on sprint-like courses is one of the best ways to improve your skimo skills quickly. Anything done well at high speed will be much easier to repeat when your heart rate is lower. So even if you don’t participate in sprint races, you can greatly benefit by incorporating aspects of sprint races into your training, it is a very efficient use of time.

In few days, we will be releasing a unique sprint and speed development training plan that will give your interval workouts an extra boost and maximize your time. Stay tuned!

How To Effectively Train Boot-packing and Running Technique for Skimo Racing

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Kilian Jornet on a way to winning his fourth Pierra Menta. Photo by Jocelyn Chavy.

Technique for boot-packing and running seems fairly straightforward since walking and running are the most natural movements to humans. However, several critical details do make a difference in efficiency.

The weight of the ski boots, loss of ankle agility, snow and handling of the ski poles all add to the complexity of simple movements we are born to easily master.

Training for effective and efficient boot-packing for longer (slower) races should be somewhat different from training for fast sprint races and running so we are discussing each on its own.

This article is an excerpt from our Manual For Ski Mountaineering Racing ebook.

Boot-packing for longer races

Usually, in longer races, boot-packing is up a steep slope with skis attached to your backpack. The important thing is that you use double-poling technique for this – planting both of your ski poles at the same time.

How to train:

Find a safe, steep slope (30+ degree) where you can set up 30-100 m (100-330 ft) vertical boot-pack. The right snow density for setting up a boot-pack track should allow for at least half of your boot’s sole to form a step.

Perform 3-6 climbs during which you double-pole on every third or fourth step.

Throughout the first half of the arms motion, you are using your arms for pulling, while in the second half (once ski poles’ handles are below your shoulders) you are using them for pushing, finishing with a full extension.

Intensity will be dictated by terrain but you can easily incorporate such a boot-pack section into your tempo intervals (zone 3).

It’s less suitable to incorporate these into your VO2 max intervals (zone 4) because of the time required to transition unless you are planning on performing the whole interval by boot-packing.

What elite racers do:

All elite racers use the double-poling technique during a boot-pack. They plant their poles, hunch themselves with their heads tilted down, then pull and push with force while their feet are doing three to five steps in one cycle. Their cadence (step frequency) varies greatly depending on the slope angle and depth of the track.

Boot-packing for sprint races

During boot-pack sections in sprint races or short (or lower angle) boot-pack sections in longer ones, the technique is the same as described above but since it’s performed on much shorter climbs, the cadence is higher as well as the force that is used for double-poling.

ISMF photo.

How to train:

Find a safe, 30-40 degree slope that will accommodate a 15-30 m (50-90 ft) vertical boot-pack. The snow should be fairly hard as the ideal foot penetration depth for good steps shouldn’t be more than just above your boot soles.

Perform 6-10 climbs with the double-poling technique described in the “boot-packing for longer races” above, but with your arms maximum force pulling and pushing on your poles while running (not walking) up the track.

These should be maximal speed efforts, so heart-rate intensity is not important, with about 1-2 minutes of recovery between the climbs.

What elite racers do:

All top sprint racers are very fast going up short boot-packs, covering four to six strides per every powerful double-poling cycle with a cadence of around 90-100 steps per leg per minute.

In the video below, around 30sec and 1min 30sec, you can watch elite racers running up during a sprint race at the 2019 World Championships.

Running in skimo races

Some races have flat or almost flat sections that are covered on foot (with skis on the pack) that could be on snow or on dry ground (gravel, pavement, grass). These sections are covered by running.

How to train:

To train for running on the snow, complete 6-10 maximal efforts of 10-15 seconds with 1-2 minutes of active rest between.

Use double-poling technique and lean into the stride, just like you would running in shoes, planting your poles far ahead of you and doing about 6-8 strides per double-poling cycle.

Best is to practice on groomed or hard-packed snow with minimal or no foot-penetration.

To train for running on dry land, complete 5-8 efforts at speed of zone 2-3 intensity and 10-20 seconds in length with minimal or no recovery. For these, you can carry poles in your hands without using them for half of the efforts while double-poling during the rest. Avoid doing these at your maximal speed as running on dry, hard ground in ski boots is quite taxing on all your leg joints. The ideal surface is grass or soft-packed dirt.

What elite racers do:

On-snow running sections are regularly featured at the top of boot-packs at various levels of competition, while dry-land sections are almost exclusive to long races that are in the spring months such as Pierra Menta, Patrouille des Glaciers, etc.

Top racers perform double-poling during the on-snow sections and usually carry their poles on dry land to prevent from breaking their pole tips.

Planning Your Training for Your Next Skimo Season

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Are you ready to ski yet? We bet a lot of you are. After all, the snow has been flying already.

We are proponents of planning your next season as early as May or June, however, unless you are shooting for the stars, you will most likely delay this until some version of the season’s racing calendar is out.

This is not a complete flop by any means as long as you are staying active throughout the summer. If you happened to mix in some racing then even better.

You might have heard Kilian Jornet say that he doesn't follow a structured training plan and trains more by feel. However, he still plans around his goals and does this after many years of high level experience.
You might have heard Kilian Jornet say that he doesn’t follow a structured training plan and trains more by feel. However, he does this after many years of experience and still plans around his goals meticulously.

Establishing Facts: Things to Consider

To come up with a reasonable plan for your next race season, it is wise to evaluate a couple of important things:

  • What are my goals? (races and adventures)
  • How long do I have to get ready for them?
  • Where is my fitness right now?
  • What do I need to do to be at my best at the right time?
  • Do I have all the gear in place?

While the above should be figured out as soon as possible, the below still have some time:

  • Where are my goal races located?
  • Are they at altitude?
  • Will they require significant travel to attend?
  • How will this impact my training and life?
  • Can I share race trips with friends?
  • How much will these trips cost?

Planning Your Training Around Your Goals

Now that you have realized some truths and set some goals, you can start planning how to incorporate the necessary training. Having a full time job doesn’t make it easy but most of us have that responsibility so you are in no disadvantage.

With a well thought out plan you can make big performance gains without having to commit to 3-4h of training every day.
training-plans-banner-600x260
Drafting your training plan should start from the end and working backwards from your goal race (or race month) to the present. Analyze what demands (physical, technical…) your goal race will require of you. Is it a sprint, two hour individual, or a long teams race?

Beyond that, you also need to keep in mind that effective training should have continuity, progress, and variety to gradually make you improve to the desired level.

With all that in mind, here’s a simple example of how you can come up with a reasonable plan:

  • Goal event: January 27, 2018
  • Taper 1-2 weeks out
  • Focus on intensity 2-8 weeks out
  • Focus on strength and endurance 9-16 weeks out

From there, you can start planning your individual weeks and even workouts.

First, identify 1-3 goals for each period or week and then choose two primary workouts per week that help move you towards the goals. These are your “bread and butter” workouts and should be the priority. Once these are identified, fill in the rest of the week with the secondary goals and overall endurance work.

Secondary Considerations: Recovery and Nutrition

If you have been training for few seasons or following SkinTrack, you know that actual training is only one part of the whole puzzle. Recovery is equally important, especially if you have a demanding job or family commitments to consider.

The only way to improve is to adapt to higher (more demanding) training loads. To adapt you will need to strategically schedule recovery days and weeks into your plan. While this can be highly individual, there are some conservative general principles such as building your training load for three weeks followed by recovery period of one week, as well as having at least one full day-off each week.

Another factor affecting your rate of adaptation and improvement will be your nutrition. You do not need to obsess but eating mostly unprocessed foods and avoiding most junk food will be highly beneficial. You can also boost your caloric and protein intake during the most demanding weeks. Basically, if your body asks for more then eat more. We don’t mean ice cream though 🙂

Help with Planning

If you would like to follow a specialized skimo training plan and can commit 6-9h of training per week then we have designed such a plan last year – 12-Week Skimo Training Plan.

Besides that, you can get a deal on a package by combining the training plan with our Manual For Ski Mountaineering Racing e-book from which you can learn about all aspects of our sport, plus improve your transitions skills by learning from our videos.

North American Women Racing The 2019 Trofeo Mezzalama: Kylee Toth Ohler Shares Their Experience

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In their first start in the iconic Trofeo Mezzalama, a trio of  North American ladies – Kylee Toth Ohler (CAN), Jessie Young and Sierra Anderson (both USA) – placed 6th and gained a lot of new experience from the very windy 2019 edition.

Here’s a short interview with Kylee to recap their experience.

Sierra, Kylee, Jessie

Q: For all 3 of you, Mezzalama was a brand new experience. Did you like it?

I really enjoyed this race! It was definitely the most technical, challenging and fun ski mountaineering event I have completed.

It is truly a mountaineering race and a big undertaking. It challenges all of your skills – ascending, descending, glacier travel, ridge climbing – it certainly is not a race I would want to enter without training and preparation.

Q: How would you compare it to World Championships and Pierra Menta?

The Grande Course races are each unique and the Mezzalama has a very different feel than the Pierra Menta, being at higher altitudes and more technical.

I would definitely do both races again and the Grande Course style of true ski mountaineering rely appeals to me more than World Cup or World Championships style of racing.

Q: What was the biggest challenge for the whole team?

I would say the biggest challenge was the adverse weather. It was really cold and windy for half of the race and we had huge climbs and descents.

When we were at the bottom of the climb we were hot and sweating. Once we ascended above 3500 meters it was -20 or colder and extremely windy on the ridges. This made it challenging to stay warm. We wasted a lot of time trying to manage that.

Q: Now having the experience, what do you think is the most important aspect in preparing for such a big race?

I would take this race seriously in preparing for it.

You would need to put in a lot of training meters, many 2000m+ ski touring days, and be a very competent downhill skier – comfortable skiing double black runs at your local ski hill.

Not only is the skiing challenging for many descents but you have to descend roped up with your team mates!

This race is ideal for someone with a background of many years of ski mountaineer racing or true mountaineering. I would definitely not recommended for beginners even if they are very fit.

Mezzalama 2019: Italians Win in Mens while French Win the Womens Race, 6th for North American Ladies

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Windy conditions at Mezzalama 2019. Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

Trofeo Mezzalama, being held every second year, is often affected by severe weather conditions as its course takes athletes to high alpine ridges that hover around the altitude of 4000 m. The 2019 edition was no different and due to strong winds the organizers had to be creative, however, they still delivered a challenging and exciting route.

Men’s Race

An amazing battle took place between the top three men’s teams, and only the last climb and descent decided the winner. In the last couple of years, in the World Cup and Grand Course races, the strength of the current Italian team is undeniable and the trio of Michele Boscacci, Robert Antonioli and Matteo Eydallin came on top once again in 4h 45min 30sec.

For Matteo Eydallin, the specialist of long team races, this was the fifth Mezzalama victory as he lost only one edition since 2009!

Second place went to a strong Swiss team – Marti Werner, William Boffelli and Martin Anthamatten – who challenged the Italians almost the whole day. At the end, they lost only 2min 51sec in this almost 5h race.

Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

Kilian Jornet teamed up with an Austrian Jakob Herrmann, his 2018 Pierra Menta partner where they led until the last stage, and Jakob’s countrymen Armin Hoefl. While perhaps not as strong as the top two teams on paper, this trio was hot on the heels of the Swiss and missed on the second place by only 1min at the finish line.

» Men’s race full results

Women’s Race

In the women’s race, a dominant French team – Axelle Mollaret, Alba de Silvestro, Lorna Bonnel – took the win with a big gap.

The race behind them was much more interesting as only 30 seconds were the difference between second and third! Two Italian teams battled all the way to the finish line with Giulia Murada, Ilaria Veronese and Mara Martini prevailing over Elena Nicolini, Bianca Balzarini and Corina Ghirardi.

Alba de Silvestro from the second placed Italian team. Source and credit: Trofeo Mezzalama.

The elite category North American women’s team delivered a great performance to place 6th despite racing together for the very first time. Canadian Kylee Ohler teamed up with two US Team members Jessie Young and Sierra Anderson to take on the challenge. Both Kylee and Jessie have lots of experience from big skimo races while Sierra is quickly learning yet has tremendous athletic base from other sports.

» Women’s race full results

Darkside Ski Mountaineering Race in Whistler – April, 2019

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Sold out event sees 112 competitors at the start line on Blackcomb Mountain. Canadian champions Nick Elson and Kylee Ohler claim top spots.

Whistler, B.C. – April 6, 2019 — It was a turbulent start to race day with avalanche bombs echoing throughout the Whistler Valley, but inclement weather and fresh snow on the ground was not about to stop the return of ski mountaineering racing to Whistler Blackcomb. The Darkside Ski Mountaineering Race took place over 13.3 kilometres on Blackcomb Mountain with over 1,400 metres of elevation gain. There were 112 racers at the start line from across Canada, the Pacific Northwest and as far away as Spain and Costa Rica.

Women’s podium: 2nd Katarina Kuba, 1st Kylee Toth, 3rd Courtney post.

“The big draw of holding a race like this at Whistler Blackcomb (WB) is that the terrain is spectacular, some of the best in the world,” said Race Director Eric Carter. “The other advantage is that with the incredible assistance of WB Ski Patrol we could still hold the event in adverse weather conditions in the subalpine. Next year, we’ll definitely have our fingers crossed for clear weather and the chance to really showcase what these athletes can do in the formidable alpine terrain of Blackcomb.”

Nick Elson in the bootpack on the final climb.

Canadian national champions Nick Elson and Kylee Ohler took the victory in the Open category with a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes, 20 seconds (1:30:20) and 1:51:09 respectively. Elson had fellow Squamish local Jessie Mcauley (1:30:36) on his heels, the 18 year-old finishing just 16 seconds behind to take seconds place. Tyson Smith came in third with a time of 1:39:26. Ohler, who travelled from Calgary for the event, was followed by Katerina Kuba (2:05:05) and Courtney Post (2:08:23). In all, nine Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team members, fresh from the World Championships in Villars, Switzerland, participated in the event.

“The (Whistler Blackcomb) Events staff were incredibly helpful, as were our small army of volunteers,” said Carter. “Everything went really smoothly. We definitely fielded lots of questions on the mountain about what this race was, how far the competitors were climbing and how fast they were doing it.”

The Darkside Ski Mountaineering Race had its biggest turnout in the Heavy Metal category with 45 racers tackling the course with regular ski touring gear. Christian Veenstra (1:53:06) from Vancouver and Olivia Vihant (2:31:10) from Squamish took the win with all racers completing the course in approximately three hours. One lone splitboard competitor held the rallying flag for snowboarders.

“A large portion of the field were not equipped with race skis and lycra skin suits, but were actually in normal ski touring setups,” said Carter. “These are the folks who want to get out and ski the Spearhead Traverse in a push, summit peaks or just ski more powder in a day! Using some of the technology and techniques from ‘skimo’ racing makes this possible. Having this crew out there skiing hard, cheering on their friends and enjoying the effort is awesome and it forms the backbone of our community.”

Only 18-years old Jessie Mcauley stayed within 30 seconds of Nick Elson the whole race!

Later in the afternoon, racers filled the floor space of the Escape Route Alpine Demo Centre for the awards with cash prizes for the Open category winners and sponsor prize packs for everyone who made it onto the podium.

Dozens of competitors were treated to more draw prizes from a long list of sponsors:
Escape Route, Arc’teryx, Dynafit and Petzl with additional support from Pomoca, Ultimate Direction, Skintrack.com, Ridgeline Athletics, Skiuphill.ca, Demon Eyewear, OnSight Equipment, Blue Ice, Wiivv and Ullr Maps.

» Full Results

 

Individual Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 12: Antonioli and Mollaret win senior titles

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individual-2019-worlds
After a forced day off due to stormy weather yesterday, the World Ski Mountaineering Championships continued today with Individual race for all categories.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

Men (Senior & Espoir)

Today’s course was very technical and lots of big names dropped out, and it was big for Italy when Robert Antonioli (ITA) added a gold medal to his bronze from the sprint race two days ago! His team-mate Michelle Boscacci was only 35 seconds behind to take silver. This results makes them the top favourites for the Teams race later in the week. Third place went to Xavier Gachet (FRA) only another 40 seconds behind.
The whole top 10 was distributed only among 3 countries – Italy, France and Switzerland – with the Italians had 4 of their athletes there!

Michelle Boscacci leading the pack.
Michelle Boscacci leading the pack.

US and Canadian men:
There were lots of anticipation whether John Gaston (USA) can improve on his 15th place from the Individual race from two years ago. Gaston is known not to be satisfied with himself even when he delivers his absolute best which adds to the pressure. However, he seems to constantly deliver when it matters the most and today was no different as he took a historical 12th place in this event for North America with only less than 5min behind the winner!
Cameron Smith (USA) had a very good race as well to take 33rd, with only 12min off the podium, in his first ever showing in the senior category. Cam definitely has potential in the coming years! Max Taam (USA) was 41st and likely not as satisfied.
The Canadian’s were led home by Peter Knight in 51st place, followed by Tyson Smith and Matt Ruta in 53rd and 54th respectively.
Of note, Mike Foote (USA) suffered an injury in training and likely won’t race at these Worlds at all.

Women (Senior & Espoir)

It might not be Laetitia Roux but the French have a new queen when Axelle Gachet Mollaret took gold with 3.5min ahead of Alba de Silvestro (ITA). Another French lady, Lorna Bonnel, had a great race and took bronze.
Of note is that two Swedish women placed 5th and 6th which is a big result for such a new skimo country!

Kylee Ohler racing to her 25th place.
Kylee Ohler racing to her 25th place.

US and Canadian women:
After delivering her first baby only a couple of months ago, Jessie Young (USA) reached her personal historical maximum with 13th place. Congratulations!
While Sierra Anderson (USA) might be reasonably new to skimo, and participating in her first Worlds, she delivered a great performance to finish in 18th. Nikki Laroche and Kate Zander (both USA) took 26th and 27th respectively.
The best Canadian result came from Kylee Ohler in 25th. Kylee was likely dreaming for a slightly better result (top 20) but we are sure she left everything on the course. Lori Ann Donald missed the top 30 by only one spot.

Juniors & Cadets  – Women and Men

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Jessie Mcauley (CAN) had a great race to place 10th in the men’s junior category. Jacob Dewey was best US athlete in 18th in the same category.
There were no North American women in the junior category.
There were 49 athletes in the men’s cadet category! The best NA results went to Caden Klein (USA) with his team-mates following closely behind, while Canadians didn’t participate.
In the cadet women’s category, among 24 athletes, Team US did very well as Grace Staberg and Elsa Bates took 6th and 8th respectively. Canadian athlete Ema Chlepkova had a satisfactory performance to finish in 18th.
» For full results visit this page. 

Sprint Race – 2019 Skimo Worlds – Mar 10: Arno Lietha and Galicia Cotrina win senior titles

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The 2019 Skimo Worlds were off to a windy start when strong gusts caused couple of issues to organizers. At the end, everything worked out and the first medals have been distributed to the fastest athletes.
» If you are looking for results only then visit this page, otherwise, keep reading for more details.

ISMF photo
ISMF photo

Sprint Race – Men (Senior & Espoir)

After a big disappointment at the 2017 sprint race,  Robert Antonioli (ITA) the 2015 Sprint World Champ, made it back to the podium to capture a bronze medal. He was out sprinted by a pair charging Swiss athletes Arno Lietha who took gold and Iwan Arnold silver.

Max Taam (USA) during the qualifying round.
Max Taam (USA) during the qualifying round. ISMF photo

US and Canadian men:
Today was not as successful for the North American men as 2 years ago when Eric Carter made it in the top 20. The best performance came from Cam Smith (USA) who made it into the quarter-finals and ultimately placed 27th.
Jason Dorais was the second best from Team USA while Tyson Smith was the best Canadian in 44th.

Sprint Race – Women (Senior & Espoir)

The women’s gold medal was decided quite early on as Claudia Galicia Cotrina (ESP) took the lead from the start. Silver medal went to Marianna Jagercikova (SVK) and bronze to Deborah Chiarello (SUI).
US and Canadian women:
Strong performances came from Sierra Anderson (USA) and Kylee Ohler (CAN) as they made it into quarter-finals and placed 20th and 24th respectively. Nikki Larochelle (USA) was the continent’s third best woman and placing 31st overall.

Sprint Race – Men and Women (Junior & Cadet)

Among Juniors the Italian Giovanni Rossi and the Russian Ekaterina Osichkina have perfectly opened the world week in the Canton of Vaud, while among Cadets Caroline Ulrich (SUI) and Robin Bussard (SUI) got the top stage of the podium.
» For full results visit this page.

Ema Chlepkova (CAN) in her first ever Skimo Worlds race. She is one of the top junior biathletes in Canada.
Ema Chlepkova (CAN) in her first ever Skimo Worlds race. She is one of the top junior biathletes in Canada. Eric Carter photo.

US and Canadian athletes – highlights:
Two years ago, Quinn Simmons earned a historical silver medal for USA in the sprint race in cadet category.
While North American’s didn’t come out with a medal Grace’s Staberg 9th place in the women’s cadet category is a big success.
Best placed cadet men was Rush Peterson in 24th place. A biathlete specialist trying her luck in skimo, Ema Chlepkova (CAN), placed 19th.
In the junior category, top honours for North Americans went to Finnegan Remias for USA and Noah Schuh for Canada while there were no NA women on the start line in this category.

Overview: 2019 Skimo World Championships + Team USA and Team Canada Athletes

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Two years went by very fast since the last World Ski Mountaineering Championships!
On Sunday, March 10 athletes will line up for the first event of the 2019 Skimo Worlds in Villars, Switzerland.
We have prepared the following overview – including names on the US and Canadian Teams – to make it easier for you to follow events every day… and a little bit of controversy too.
2019-skimo-world-champs-overview

Events

World Ski Mountaineering Championships take place every second year and usually take over a region or a valley somewhere in Europe for 6-7 days.
Here is the events schedule for 2019 Skimo Worlds:

  • March 10 – Sprint Race – All categories
  • March 11 – Individual Race – Junior & Cadet
  • March 12 – Individual Race – Senior & Espoir
  • March 13 – Vertical Race – All categories
  • March 14 – Day Off
  • March 15 – Teams Race – Senior
  • March 16 – Relay Race – All categories

Controversy: Pierra Menta dates clashing with World Championships

Over the years, there have been many issues regarding collaboration between the ISMF (International Ski Mountaineering Federation) and the Grand Course races (big traditional team races) such as Pierra Menta.
This year, the two biggest skimo events, the World Championshisp and Pierra Menta, take place in the same week – Pierra Menta goes from March 13 to 16.
While both sides tried to work this out to some degree it shows that skimo as a sport is still very small that no one has the luxury to move the dates infinitely.

Team USA

The following athletes were named to the US National Team after qualifying races in February, however, there could be last minute changes due to athletes’ abilities to fund themselves to participate.
This is the largest US Skimo Team ever with 20 athletes being less than 21 years old!
Athlete Demographics by State:

  • Colorado – 28
  • Utah – 7
  • Montana – 3
  • New Mexico – 2
  • Washington – 1

Senior Men:

  • Jon Brown – Crested Butte, CO
  • Jason Dorais – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Mike Foote – Missoula, MT
  • John Gaston – Aspen, CO
  • Tom Goth – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Rory Kelly – Boulder, CO
  • Jack Linehan – Aspen, CO
  • Cam Smith – Gunnison, CO
  • Max Taam – Aspen, CO

Senior Women:

  • Michela Adrian – Bozeman, MT
  • Sierra Anderson – Breckenridge, CO
  • Jamie Brede – Breckenridge, CO
  • Sarah Cookler – Silver Fork, UT
  • Annamae Flynn* – Marble, CO
  • Sara Kadlec* – Boulder, CO
  • Nikki Larochelle – Breckenridge, CO
  • Chelsee Pummel – Bozeman, MT
  • Jesse Young – Aspen, CO
  • Kate Zander – Breckenridge, CO

Espoir Men:

  • Peter Butler – Port Angeles, WA
  • Jeshurun Small – Gunnison, CO

Junior Men:

  • Max Bonenberger – Breckenridge, CO
  • Jacob Dewey – Gunnison, CO
  • Peter Hajdo – Gunnison, CO
  • Henry Hanes – Albuquerque, NM
  • Finnegan Remias – Breckenridge, CO
  • Sam Wescott – Silverthorne, CO

Junior Women:

  • Morgan Fortin – Albuquerque, NM
  • Victoria Olson – Salt Lake City, UT

Cadet men:

  • Connor Albin – Breckenridge, CO
  • George Beck – Woody Creek, CO
  • Sam Burke – Dillon, CO
  • Paul Hans – Breckenridge, CO
  • Mark Jardim – Breckenridge, CO
  • Caden Klein – Aspen, CO
  • Rush Peterson – Silver Fork, UT
  • Jeremiah Vaille – Dillon, CO

Cadet Women:

  • Elsa Bates – Breckenridge, CO
  • Ada Fendler – Silver Fork, UT
  • Samantha Paisley – Silver Fork, UT
  • Grace Staberg – Silverthorne, CO

Team Canada

We have not received an official press release from the Canadian Skimo federation neither the World Champs team is announced on their website but these should be the athletes representing Canada this year.
Men’s Team – All categories:

  • Matt Ruta
  • Tyson Smith
  • Peter Knight
  • Scott Semple
  • Noah Schuh

Women’s Team – All categories:

  • Kylee Ohler Toth
  • Lori-Ann Donald
  • Ema Chlepkova
  • Courtney Post
  • Katarina Kuba
  • Caroline Reid