"In ski mountaineering, athletes navigate a set course amidst rugged terrain. They attach climbing skins to the base of their skis while they ascend a mountain, quickly maneuver their skis off to tackle a series of steps on foot, then readjust and ski back down. The sprint race consists of an ascent and descent, starting with time trials and seeding athletes into groups of six."
"In the mixed relay, teams of one man and one woman alternate four laps two ascents and two descents on a longer course (with an elevation gain of 460 feet compared to 230 in the sprint). According to Team USA, ski mountaineering has its roots in the "need to traverse the snow-covered landscapes of Europe in prehistoric times," and can officially be traced back to the mountains of Switzerland in 1897."
Ski mountaineering debuts at the Winter Olympics as the first entirely new sport since skeleton returned in 2002, offering three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay. Athletes climb with skins, sometimes remove skis to traverse steps on foot, then transition to ski descents. Sprint races use time trials to seed athletes into six-person heats. The mixed relay pairs one man and one woman who alternate four laps with greater elevation gain. The sport traces roots to early European mountain travel, formalized in Switzerland in 1897, with world championships beginning in 2002 and a World Cup following in 2004.
Read at www.npr.org
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