Colorado skimo athletes help usher sport into its Winter Olympic debut

As the sun begins to rise into the sky, snowcats meticulously work to groom the last section of snow for a brand new ski day. While the mountain may seem completely desolate, people soon exit the warmth of their car, strap on a head lamp, and begin walking to the base of the mountain.

In between sleepy yawns, the growing group of people step into their skis, take hold of their poles, and begin skinning under the soft morning light and the distant groan of the working snowcat.

These athletes will spend the next hour or so before the lifts begin spinning, skinning up the mountain before eventually cruising back down to the base area. Although there is a small group of athletes who do this on a daily basis, the sport — which is formally called ski mountaineering, or skimo — will be making its debut at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

The sprint and mixed-relay disciplines will be represented at the 25th Winter Olympiad. Even though the two races are not typically fan favorites for ski mountaineering enthusiasts, the anticipation is still high for the Olympic Games in February.

Breckenridge resident Nikki LaRochelle and Blue River resident Rory Kelly — a native of the Roaring Fork Valley — could not be more excited to see how skimo is received in its debut. Both ski mountaineers themselves, LaRochelle and Kelly will serve different roles in the sport in the Olympic year.

While LaRochelle still competes in skimo races like Aspen’s Power of Four, the seasoned athlete will be part of the broadcast team covering ski mountaineering at the Olympics.

LaRochelle specifically signed a contract with the Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS). With a deep passion for the sport, LaRochelle cannot wait to be able to call the races in Italy in real time.

“I have never commentated before, which is a little comical,” LaRochelle said. “I will be commentating for OBS and they broadcast to over 200 countries for the Olympics. They did a call for former athletes with international race experience, and I applied when they did that call.”

After applying, LaRochelle then went through a four-round interview process which concluded with her going to a commentating workshop in London. LaRochelle’s expertise in the sport ultimately allowed her to be selected as the expert and color commentator for OBS’s skimo broadcast throughout the duration of the Games.

“It means a lot to me in a few different ways,” LaRochelle said. “As I get older, it is sort of a new endeavor within the scope of sport that I am really excited about. I still race and partake in ski mountaineering, but this is a completely different thing to be doing.”

Kelly will also play an instrumental role for the U.S. ski mountaineering team ahead of the Games. Following a professional skimo career from 2014 to 2020, he will use his experience as an athlete to serve as the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) rep for the U.S. ski mountaineering team.

“I got elected by fellow athletes after I was made eligible through previous competitions,” Kelly said. “The job is interesting. … A lot of the job, at least right now, is assisting with paperwork and coming up with the rules for qualification procedures. It is more about making sure that the proper procedures and rules are in place in order to properly select and field an Olympic team.”

On top of overseeing qualification procedures, Kelly is also developing a set of rules that will guide how U.S. skimo athletes can eventually receive Olympic Committee support.

“Right now they don’t really receive any monetary or financial support directly from USOPC,” Kelly said. “It is all coming from USA Skimo, but we are trying to get that in place for future folks as we go down the line.”

Both LaRochelle and Kelly feel like they can play a role in making the sport accessible to those who may not be familiar with it. While the sport is steadily gaining in popularity and is well known on the Western Slope, many of the viewers who will be tuning into the Olympics may not know that much about it.

“Seeing the sport in the Olympics is thrilling,” LaRochelle said. “I will be even more excited if they are able to do other disciplines within the sport. Like the individual format is the one I am most passionate about. It has been interesting to see the sport evolve. Seeing the traction within the youth here has been incredible.”

Summit County specifically has several youth ski mountaineering groups including Rocky Mountain Skimo Association and the Summit Skimo Club. Both groups work to introduce the sport to kids living in Summit County, growing the sport and working to develop American talent. 

“It has been really neat to see all the local kids take to the sport,” Kelly said. “It is such a huge difference these days being able to go out and practice technical aspects. Learning kick turns, learning transitions — doing all of that when they are young.”

As ski mountaineering grows closer to being introduced to the world, LaRochelle and Kelly are hopeful the sport continues to evolve and gain traction at the global level.

“The mixed relay, which will be one of the disciplines that we will see at the Olympics, is relatively new,” LaRochelle said. “It was introduced to the World Cup circuit in 2022. The sport is very much in a state of evolution and being part of it unfolding is very exciting.”

Ski mountaineering will be featured at the Olympics on Feb. 19 and Feb. 21.