What Is Skimo?

I found myself asking this question at the beginning of this fall: What is skimo?

Skimo is a sport that includes skiing, uphill hiking, racing, and lots of endurance all in one.

A wide definition is:

Skimo stands for ski mountaineering, which is simply climbing and skiing mountains. Today, the modern sport of Skimo has taken on a different form, although it’s still rooted in the traditional definition of ski mountaineering. Skimo is all about moving fast and light.

In skimo, you race uphill on skis using skins on the bottom for traction and then you do a quick transition and ski back down. The uphill usually can be from hundreds to thousands of vert and can take minutes or hours to get up. Sometimes there are laps where you go up then down then up again!

Races can take place in ski resorts, backcountry, or a bit of both. At skimo practice we do long endurance nights, sprint racing, transition practice, booters (hiking up with skis on our backs) etc. There are two or three main kinds of races: longer races that have downhill, uphill, and you need to pace yourself for multiple hours; sprint races that usually last under 10 minutes but you are sprinting really hard; and vertical races, that are roughly 1000 ft of climbing or more. In a vertical race you only race to the top and the decent is not counted.

Competing in my first vertical race.

What unique gear do you need for skimo?

Skimo race gear is usually a lot lighter than any other ski gear. Skimo boots have walk mode for flats or uphills and are way more comfortable than resort boots. Skimo skis (I call them skinny skis) are hilariously small and weigh about half the weight of most other skis. Like backcountry skiing, you need skins, cut specifically for your skis, in order to ascend.

A skimo specific backpack is very helpful because they are lightweight but also have ski attachments that are quick and easy to use. Most people wear spandex but you don’t have to have it. 🙂 Since skimo comes from backcountry skiing and often we are in the backcountry, we all carry a beacon, shovel and probe and practice how to use them. Lastly, you need eye protection like goggles or sunglasses and a helmet. 

Why is Skimo a hard sport?

Many of our races were at night in sub-zero temperatures.

I would say it is one of the harder sports that exists because there are so many aspects to it. There is the uphill, downhill, the transitions, and then all the little things like learning to ski uphill and not trip over everything and learning to ski on super, super, light gear. In all, you use your lungs like a runner, your legs like a downhill skier, and have to manage weather, terrain and gear simultaneously. 

The difficulties of each aspect:

Uphill:  Obviously the uphill is difficult because you are skinning up under your own power. This takes physical and mental endurance. However, there are also technical things you need to learn to be better at such as sprinting on skis, gliding and kick turns. These things help you to be more efficient and faster.

Downhill: There really is no resting in skimo because you are trying to get down the mountain as quickly as you possibly can. Often you are skiing down quickly with your legs burning while also negotiating bumps, ice, powder, trees and mixed snow conditions. 

Transitions: Transitioning is the time when you switch from uphill travel to downhill travel. This consists of removing your skins, switching your bindings to downhill mode, switching your boots from walk mode to ski mode, and getting all your gear stowed in your pack. The first few weeks of learning to transition consisted of tripping, falling, getting skins in my hair, and being the laughing show of the family.

Skimo transitions aren’t always easy, as my brother shows here! It takes a lot of practice to get fast and a good sense of humor.

Transitioning is actually really important in a race as I have learned. If you are ahead of someone but they have quicker transitions, you can be left in the dust in no time. (Also, transitioning is more exhausting than it sounds.) 

Dressing for Skimo:

Dressing for skimo is all about layering. In my first race it was freezing so for warm up, I wore my light jacket over my speed suit. I was still super cold and so I did not notice at the start when I forgot to take off the jacket. It is amazing how quickly you can go from cold to sweaty and then back to cold again, so learning how to layer right for you is important especially because taking time to put your jacket in your backpack and will slow you down. You need to remember that in some races you are skiing into the unknown and if you get hurt you need to be prepared.

When we have enough snow, we hike up to the golf course to skin and practice our transitions.

The importance of food:

Even in my hour long race, forgetting food, sugar, gatorade, or any kind of energy was a HUGE mistake. I practically bonked by the end of the race so remembering some kind of food or sugary drink is very important.

Skimo is a new sport and is not very well known in America but in Europe it is a lot more popular. The most popular kind of skiing in the world is alpine racing, or downhill. Skimo is really unique though because it combines racing downhill with racing uphill and ascending under your own power. Skimo is not an easy sport but it is a lot of fun.