🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 170 (from laksa096)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa170.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5637261/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5637261/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/05\/nx-s1-5637261\/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering","crawl_time":1776644144,"first_indexed_time":1770293520,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"org,npr!www,\/2026\/02\/05\/nx-s1-5637261\/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering s443","src_root_hash":"156162564976766770","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"New Olympic sports: Ski mountaineering and other events : NPR","meta_descriptions":["Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, in February 2025, a year before the sport makes its debut at the Winter Olympics.\nAntonio Calanni\/AP\nhide caption\ntoggle caption\nAntonio Calanni\/AP\nWant more Olympics updates? \nGet our behind-the-scenes newsletter\n for what it's like to be at these Games.\nThese Winter Olympics will feature a new sport for the first time in over three decades.\nWhile the Games regularly add events within existing disciplines, they haven't introduced an entirely new sport since the\nreturn of skeleton\nin 2002.\nThat changes this year with the debut of ski mountaineering, aka \"skimo.\"\nThe sport, which involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain, will feature three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay.\nThat's in addition to five brand new competitions in longtime Winter Olympic sports — for a grand total of eight new medal opportunities at this year's Games. Here's what to know about them.\nThe new sport: ski mountaineering\nIn 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.\nThe 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\nlonger course\n(with an elevation gain of 460 feet compared to 230 in the sprint).\nAccording to\nTeam USA\n, 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.\nBut the sport known as skimo really took off in the 21st century, hosting its first world championships in France in 2002 and establishing a World Cup circuit two years later.\nIt was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, and the following year was approved for inclusion in Milano Cortina — a fitting country for its Olympic debut, since the sport has a long history and many international champions in Italy.\nSki mountaineering competitions will be held in the Valtellina Valley town of Bormio, at the same venue as Alpine skiing.\nThe U.S. team narrowly qualified for the Games in a high-stakes Utah\nrace in early December\n, the very last chance for teams to earn Olympic ranking points.\nThe mixed relay team of Anna Gibson and Cam Smith won its race by a\nminute and a half\non home snow, beating rival Canada to take home a gold medal and secure for Team USA the continent's last Olympics spot. It wasn't just a major victory, but a chance for Team USA to educate curious Instagram followers about the sport itself.  \nNew events within skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls\nThe other new events are additional variations of existing competitions, giving more athletes — particularly women — a chance to compete:\nThere's\ndual moguls\n, a\nfreestyle skiing event\nin which two athletes compete side by side, performing aerial tricks on two jumps of a bumpy course. Traditional moguls, featuring one skier at a time, have been part of the Winter Games since the 1990s. This year will feature both men's and women's dual moguls.\nAnother new event is\nmixed team skeleton\n, which pairs one man and one woman from the same country to\nrace down an ice track\nhead-first on a small sled.\nThis year also marks the debut of\nwomen's doubles luge\n, in which two women from the same country\ndouble up\non the same sled to race down the track, feet-first. The existing\ndoubles luge\ncompetition will officially become a men's event, which it effectively has been since the 1960s, since women were technically eligible but never previously participated.\nSki jumping\nis also getting a brand\nnew event\n, the\nwomen's individual large hill competition\n. That means both men and women will compete in normal and large hill events, as well as a\nmixed team event\n, which made its debut in the 2022 Beijing Games.\nMen have one additional ski jumping medal event, which is rebranding this year: the\nsuper team\n, a new format that replaces the traditional four-person team competition with pairs of two competing in up to three jumps. Olympics\norganizers say\nthe restructuring makes the competition more dynamic and paves the way for smaller nations to participate.","attrs_markdown":"Accessibility links\n\n- [Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/05\/nx-s1-5637261\/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering#mainContent)\n- [Keyboard shortcuts for audio player](https:\/\/help.npr.org\/contact\/s\/article?name=what-are-the-keyboard-shortcuts-for-using-the-npr-org-audio-player)\n\n![]()\n\n****Loading****\n\n- **Hourly News**\n- **Listen Live**\n- **My Playlist**\n\n- Open Navigation Menu\n- [![NPR logo](https:\/\/media.npr.org\/chrome\/npr-logo-2026-animated.gif)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/)\n- **![Station Logo](https:\/\/branding.npr.org\/logo\/service-logo\/logo-Color-Logo-s305.png)**\n  \n  ![WAMU 88.5 logo](https:\/\/branding.npr.org\/logo\/service-logo\/logo-Color-Logo-s305.png)\n  \n  WAMU 88.5\n  \n  - ******Listen Live****WAMU 88.5 (HD 88.5-1)******\n  - [donate](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/donations\/support)\n  - 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[![](https:\/\/media.npr.org\/chrome\/nprplus\/logo.jpg?s=100) Get NPR+](https:\/\/plus.npr.org\/?utm_medium=nprweb&source=globalsubnav)\n  - [More Podcasts & Shows](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/podcasts-and-shows\/)\n- [Search](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/search\/)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletters\/)\n- [NPR Shop](https:\/\/shopnpr.org\/)\n- [![](https:\/\/cdn.optimizely.com\/img\/11107397707\/70256d3ff60441b1a8690a464256b0cc.svg)JOIN NPR+](https:\/\/plus.npr.org\/)\n- [Sign In](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/05\/nx-s1-5637261\/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering)Personalize Your Experience\n\n- [![NPR Music](https:\/\/prod-eks-static-assets.npr.org\/chrome_svg\/music-logo-dark.svg) ![NPR Music](https:\/\/prod-eks-static-assets.npr.org\/chrome_svg\/music-logo-light.svg)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/music\/)\n- [Tiny Desk](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/tiny-desk-concerts\/)\n- [New Music Friday](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/allsongs\/606254804\/new-music-friday)\n- [All Songs Considered](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/allsongs\/)\n- [Music Features](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/music-features)\n- [Live Sessions](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/770565791\/npr-music-live-sessions)\n- [The Best Music of 2025](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/10\/g-s1-99930\/best-music-of-2025)\n\n- [About NPR](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about\/)\n- [Diversity](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/diversity\/)\n- [Support](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/support\/)\n- [Careers](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/careers\/)\n- [Press](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/750003\/press-room\/)\n- [Ethics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/ethics\/)\n\n**New Olympic sports: Ski mountaineering and other events** **Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.**\n\n[![Illustration of the Olympic torch.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/800x800+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/png\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F09%2Fd4%2Fe235eb934809bb3556bbd8d6dc9e%2Folympics-torch.png)**Special Series** 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/g-s1-104526\/2026-olympics)\n\n# The Winter Olympics get 8 new events, including the first new sport in decades\nFebruary 5, 20267:05 AM ET\n\nBy\n\n[Rachel Treisman](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/people\/776048102\/rachel-treisman)\n\n#### What is 'ski mountaineering,' the new sport added to the Winter Olympics?\n******Listen****· 4:02******\n\n4-Minute Listen\n\n****Playlist****\n\n[**Transcript**](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/transcripts\/nx-s1-5637261)\n\n**Toggle more options**\n\n- [**Download**](https:\/\/ondemand.npr.org\/anon.npr-mp3\/npr\/atc\/2026\/02\/20260204_atc_what_is_ski_mountaineering_the_new_sport_added_to_the_winter_olympics.mp3?t=progseg&e=nx-s1-5653919&p=2&seg=1&d=242&size=3881214&sc=siteplayer&aw_0_1st.playerid=siteplayer)\n- ****Embed****\n  **Embed**\n  \n  **`<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/player\/embed\/nx-s1-5637261\/nx-s1-9635367\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"NPR embedded audio player\">`**\n- [**Transcript**](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/transcripts\/nx-s1-5637261)\n\n![Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy in February 2025.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6783x4522+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2F6f%2Fa5761d9e48cc91c35b1cf83d0181%2Fap26005558494462.jpg)\n\nAthletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, in February 2025, a year before the sport makes its debut at the Winter Olympics.  **Antonio Calanni\/AP**  ****hide caption****\n\n****toggle caption****\n\nAntonio Calanni\/AP\n\n*Want more Olympics updates?* [***Get our behind-the-scenes newsletter***](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletter\/winter-olympics) *for what it's like to be at these Games.*\n***\nThese Winter Olympics will feature a new sport for the first time in over three decades.\n\nWhile the Games regularly add events within existing disciplines, they haven't introduced an entirely new sport since the [return of skeleton](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2002\/02\/20\/1138375\/olympic-skeleton) in 2002.\n\n[![One of the rock walls covered in dinosaur tracks.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/250x250+70+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8f%2Fa9%2Fa1ca36d14b71a25651d340ac696a%2Fdinosaurs1.jpg)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/17\/nx-s1-5647391\/dinosaur-tracks-italy-olympics)\n\n### [2026 Milan Cortina Olympics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/g-s1-104526\/2026-olympics)\n### [Italy makes a surprising discovery ahead of the Winter Olympics: dinosaur tracks](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/17\/nx-s1-5647391\/dinosaur-tracks-italy-olympics)\n\nThat changes this year with the debut of ski mountaineering, aka \"skimo.\"\n\nThe sport, which involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain, will feature three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay.\n\nThat's in addition to five brand new competitions in longtime Winter Olympic sports — for a grand total of eight new medal opportunities at this year's Games. Here's what to know about them.\n\n### The new sport: ski mountaineering\nIn 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.\n\nSponsor Message\n\nThe 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](https:\/\/www.nbcolympics.com\/news\/ski-mountaineering-101-competition-format) (with an elevation gain of 460 feet compared to 230 in the sprint).\n\n[![Illustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/600x600+1200+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc9%2Fd6%2Ff0216f7e4b399e86419b42b12344%2Frgttg.jpg)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletter\/winter-olympics)\n\nIllustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter.  **NPR**  ****hide caption****\n\n****toggle caption****\n\nNPR\n\n[![Illustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1067x600+733+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc9%2Fd6%2Ff0216f7e4b399e86419b42b12344%2Frgttg.jpg)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletter\/winter-olympics)\n\nIllustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter.  **NPR**  ****hide caption****\n\n****toggle caption****\n\nNPR\n\n## [Rachel Goes to the Games](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletter\/winter-olympics)\n[Join our behind-the-scenes Olympics newsletter](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletter\/winter-olympics)\n\nAccording to [Team USA](https:\/\/www.teamusa.com\/news\/2024\/march\/12\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ski-mountaineering), 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.\n\nBut the sport known as skimo really took off in the 21st century, hosting its first world championships in France in 2002 and establishing a World Cup circuit two years later.\n\nIt was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, and the following year was approved for inclusion in Milano Cortina — a fitting country for its Olympic debut, since the sport has a long history and many international champions in Italy.\n\nSki mountaineering competitions will be held in the Valtellina Valley town of Bormio, at the same venue as Alpine skiing.\n\nThe U.S. team narrowly qualified for the Games in a high-stakes Utah [race in early December](http:\/\/olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/anna-gibson-cameron-smith-dazzle-home-crowd-ski-mountaineering-world-cup-solitude\/), the very last chance for teams to earn Olympic ranking points.\n\nSponsor Message\n\nThe mixed relay team of Anna Gibson and Cam Smith won its race by a [minute and a half](https:\/\/www.jhnewsandguide.com\/sports\/olympics\/anna-gibson-u-s-win-world-cup-skimo-race-and-qualify-for-olympics\/article_284d7dfa-5a44-4ddc-b5cc-28825f68480d.html) on home snow, beating rival Canada to take home a gold medal and secure for Team USA the continent's last Olympics spot. It wasn't just a major victory, but a chance for Team USA to educate curious Instagram followers about the sport itself.\n\n> [View this post on Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DSJVXB2kaQy\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)\n> \n> [A post shared by Team USA (@teamusa)](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DSJVXB2kaQy\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)\n### New events within skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls\nThe other new events are additional variations of existing competitions, giving more athletes — particularly women — a chance to compete:\n\nThere's **dual moguls**, a [freestyle skiing event](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/what-is-the-freestyle-skiing-dual-moguls-event) in which two athletes compete side by side, performing aerial tricks on two jumps of a bumpy course. Traditional moguls, featuring one skier at a time, have been part of the Winter Games since the 1990s. This year will feature both men's and women's dual moguls.\n\nAnother new event is **mixed team skeleton**, which pairs one man and one woman from the same country to [race down an ice track](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/what-is-skeleton-mixed-team-event-explainer-all-answers) head-first on a small sled.\n\n[![This photo of Colorado's Arapahoe Basin ski area shows early season snow on peaks. Also seen on the peaks are some structures, fences and conifer trees.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1943x1943+486+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc3%2F1b%2Fef8d22a84ca986676e45036cadf2%2F202511128-november-mountains-snow-arapahoe-basin-hwv-002.jpg)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/01\/nx-s1-5545712\/us-ski-resorts-steep-drop-international-travel-politics)\n\n### [National](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/national\/)\n### [U.S. ski resorts are bracing for a steep drop in international travel due to politics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/12\/01\/nx-s1-5545712\/us-ski-resorts-steep-drop-international-travel-politics)\n\n[![Katie Ledecky scored two of America's forty Olympic gold medals in the Paris Summer Games. The U.S. tied with China for the most gold, but the U.S. dominated the overall count with 126 medals.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2862x2862+716+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa9%2F37%2Ffb726a314003aa47d0223cc8cb08%2Fgettyimages-2165145036.jpg)](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/08\/11\/nx-s1-5071150\/paris-olympics-medal-total-us-gold)\n\n### [2024 Paris Olympics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/g-s1-12714\/2024-paris-olympics)\n### [The final Olympic medal tally puts the U.S. on top in Paris](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/08\/11\/nx-s1-5071150\/paris-olympics-medal-total-us-gold)\n\nThis year also marks the debut of **women's doubles luge**, in which two women from the same country [double up](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) on the same sled to race down the track, feet-first. The existing [doubles luge](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) competition will officially become a men's event, which it effectively has been since the 1960s, since women were technically eligible but never previously participated.\n\nSki jumpingis also getting a brand [new event](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/sports\/ski-jumping), the **women's individual large hill competition**. That means both men and women will compete in normal and large hill events, as well as a [mixed team event](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/what-is-the-new-ski-jumping-mixed-team-event), which made its debut in the 2022 Beijing Games.\n\nMen have one additional ski jumping medal event, which is rebranding this year: the **super team**, a new format that replaces the traditional four-person team competition with pairs of two competing in up to three jumps. Olympics [organizers say](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/what-is-men-super-team-ski-jumping) the restructuring makes the competition more dynamic and paves the way for smaller nations to participate.\n\n- [2026 Winter Olympics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/735589066\/2026-winter-olympics)\n- [2026 Olympics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/g-s1-102650\/2026-olympics)\n- [winter sports](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/389577441\/winter-sports)\n\n- **Facebook**\n- **Flipboard**\n- **Email**\n\n###### Read & Listen\n- [Home](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/)\n- [News](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/news\/)\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/culture\/)\n- [Music](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/music\/)\n- [Podcasts & Shows](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/podcasts-and-shows)\n\n###### Connect\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletters\/)\n- [Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPR\/)\n- [Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/npr\/)\n- [Press](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/750003\/press-room\/)\n- [Public Editor](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/publiceditor\/)\n- [Corrections](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/corrections\/)\n- [Transcripts](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/transcripts\/)\n- [Contact & Help](https:\/\/help.npr.org\/contact\/s\/)\n\n###### About NPR\n- [Overview](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about\/)\n- [Diversity](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/diversity\/)\n- [NPR Network](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/network\/)\n- [Accessibility](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/1136563345\/accessibility)\n- [Ethics](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/ethics\/)\n- [Finances](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/178660742\/public-radio-finances)\n\n###### Get Involved\n- [Support Public Radio](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/support\/)\n- [Sponsor NPR](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/186948703\/corporate-sponsorship)\n- [NPR Careers](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/careers\/)\n- [NPR Shop](https:\/\/shopnpr.org\/)\n- [NPR Extra](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/npr-extra\/)\n\n- [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/179876898\/terms-of-use)\n- [Privacy](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/179878450\/privacy-policy)\n- [Your Privacy Choices](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/179878450\/privacy-policy#yourchoices)\n- [Text Only](https:\/\/text.npr.org\/)\n- © 2026 npr\n\nSponsor Message\n\nSponsor Message\n\n[Become an NPR sponsor](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/about-npr\/186948703\/corporate-sponsorship)\n\n![NPR Plus logo](https:\/\/prod-eks-static-assets.npr.org\/chrome_svg\/npr-plus\/npr-plus-combo-logo.svg)\n\n##### Exclusive benefits\n\n###### Give a little. Get a lot.\nSupport mission-driven journalism while getting something great in return. Enjoy bonus content, early access and sponsor-free listening from your favorite NPR podcasts.\n\n[Get NPR+](https:\/\/plus.npr.org\/?utm_medium=nprweb&source=mvpcta)\n\nAlready have NPR+?[Sign In](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/05\/nx-s1-5637261\/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering)\n\nClose modal\n\nBy clicking “Accept All Cookies” or continuing, you agree to the use of cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about your device to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. You may customize which cookies you accept in \"Cookie Settings.\"\n\nCookies Settings\n\nAccept All Cookies\n\n![NPR logo](https:\/\/cdn.cookielaw.org\/logos\/26b1c6a2-1285-46a9-a3af-3a0d7ddde52e\/82089dfe-410c-4e1b-a7f9-698174b62a86\/12f4304d-661a-4de3-80ce-82f3165cfb61\/NPR_Logo_Color.png)\n\n## Privacy Preference Center\nNPR and our service providers and vendors use cookies and similar technologies to collect information. A cookie is a string of characters that can be written to a file on the user's computer or device when the user visits a site, application, platform or service. When you visit a website or use a mobile application, a computer asks your computer or mobile device for permission to store this file on your computer or mobile device and access information from it. Information gathered through cookies may include the date and time of visits and how you are using the website. Note that if you disable or delete cookies, you may lose access to certain features of the NPR Services.\n\n**User ID:**  1dedf5cb-385c-411a-b2d9-46502ae66804\n\n*This User ID will be used as a unique identifier while storing and accessing your preferences for future.*\n\n**Timestamp:**  --\n\nAllow All\n\n### Manage Consent Preferences\n#### Strictly Necessary or Essential Cookies\nAlways Active\n\nThese cookies are essential to provide you with services available through the NPR Services and to enable you to use some of their features. For example, these cookies allow NPR to remember your registration information while you are logged in. Local station customization, the NPR Shop, and other interactive features also use cookies. Without these cookies, the services that you have asked for cannot be provided, and we only use these cookies to provide you with those services.\n\n#### Performance and Analytics Cookies\nPerformance and Analytics Cookies\n\nThese cookies are used to collect information about traffic to our Services and how users interact with the NPR Services. The information collected includes the number of visitors to the NPR Services, the websites that referred visitors to the NPR Services, the pages that they visited on the NPR Services, what time of day they visited the NPR Services, whether they have visited the NPR Services before, and other similar information. We use this information to help operate the NPR Services more efficiently, to gather broad demographic information and to monitor the level of activity on the NPR Services.\n\n#### Functional Cookies\nFunctional Cookies\n\nThese cookies allow our Services to remember choices you make when you use them, such as remembering your Member station preferences and remembering your account details. The purpose of these cookies is to provide you with a more personal experience and to prevent you from having to re-enter your preferences every time you visit the NPR Services.\n\n#### Targeting and Sponsor Cookies\nTargeting and Sponsor Cookies\n\nThese cookies track your browsing habits or other information, such as location, to enable us to show sponsorship credits which are more likely to be of interest to you. These cookies use information about your browsing history to group you with other users who have similar interests. Based on that information, and with our permission, we and our sponsors can place cookies to enable us or our sponsors to show sponsorship credits and other messages that we think will be relevant to your interests while you are using third-party services.\n\n### Cookie List\nClear\n\n- checkbox label\n  \n  label\n\nApply\n\nCancel\n\nConsent Leg.Interest\n\ncheckbox label\n\nlabel\n\ncheckbox label\n\nlabel\n\ncheckbox label\n\nlabel\n\nReject All\n\nConfirm My Choices\n\n[![Powered by Onetrust](https:\/\/cdn.cookielaw.org\/logos\/static\/powered_by_logo.svg)](https:\/\/www.onetrust.com\/products\/cookie-consent\/)","attrs_readable_markdown":"![Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy in February 2025.](https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/6783x4522+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2F6f%2Fa5761d9e48cc91c35b1cf83d0181%2Fap26005558494462.jpg)\n\nAthletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, in February 2025, a year before the sport makes its debut at the Winter Olympics.  **Antonio Calanni\/AP**  ****hide caption****\n\n****toggle caption****\n\nAntonio Calanni\/AP\n\n*Want more Olympics updates?* [***Get our behind-the-scenes newsletter***](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/newsletter\/winter-olympics) *for what it's like to be at these Games.*\n\nThese Winter Olympics will feature a new sport for the first time in over three decades.\n\nWhile the Games regularly add events within existing disciplines, they haven't introduced an entirely new sport since the [return of skeleton](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2002\/02\/20\/1138375\/olympic-skeleton) in 2002.\n\nThat changes this year with the debut of ski mountaineering, aka \"skimo.\"\n\nThe sport, which involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain, will feature three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay.\n\nThat's in addition to five brand new competitions in longtime Winter Olympic sports — for a grand total of eight new medal opportunities at this year's Games. Here's what to know about them.\n\n### The new sport: ski mountaineering\nIn 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.\n\nThe 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](https:\/\/www.nbcolympics.com\/news\/ski-mountaineering-101-competition-format) (with an elevation gain of 460 feet compared to 230 in the sprint).\n\nAccording to [Team USA](https:\/\/www.teamusa.com\/news\/2024\/march\/12\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ski-mountaineering), 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.\n\nBut the sport known as skimo really took off in the 21st century, hosting its first world championships in France in 2002 and establishing a World Cup circuit two years later.\n\nIt was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, and the following year was approved for inclusion in Milano Cortina — a fitting country for its Olympic debut, since the sport has a long history and many international champions in Italy.\n\nSki mountaineering competitions will be held in the Valtellina Valley town of Bormio, at the same venue as Alpine skiing.\n\nThe U.S. team narrowly qualified for the Games in a high-stakes Utah [race in early December](http:\/\/olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/anna-gibson-cameron-smith-dazzle-home-crowd-ski-mountaineering-world-cup-solitude\/), the very last chance for teams to earn Olympic ranking points.\n\nThe mixed relay team of Anna Gibson and Cam Smith won its race by a [minute and a half](https:\/\/www.jhnewsandguide.com\/sports\/olympics\/anna-gibson-u-s-win-world-cup-skimo-race-and-qualify-for-olympics\/article_284d7dfa-5a44-4ddc-b5cc-28825f68480d.html) on home snow, beating rival Canada to take home a gold medal and secure for Team USA the continent's last Olympics spot. It wasn't just a major victory, but a chance for Team USA to educate curious Instagram followers about the sport itself.\n\n### New events within skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls\nThe other new events are additional variations of existing competitions, giving more athletes — particularly women — a chance to compete:\n\nThere's **dual moguls**, a [freestyle skiing event](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/what-is-the-freestyle-skiing-dual-moguls-event) in which two athletes compete side by side, performing aerial tricks on two jumps of a bumpy course. Traditional moguls, featuring one skier at a time, have been part of the Winter Games since the 1990s. This year will feature both men's and women's dual moguls.\n\nAnother new event is **mixed team skeleton**, which pairs one man and one woman from the same country to [race down an ice track](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/what-is-skeleton-mixed-team-event-explainer-all-answers) head-first on a small sled.\n\nThis year also marks the debut of **women's doubles luge**, in which two women from the same country [double up](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) on the same sled to race down the track, feet-first. The existing [doubles luge](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) competition will officially become a men's event, which it effectively has been since the 1960s, since women were technically eligible but never previously participated.\n\nSki jumpingis also getting a brand [new event](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/sports\/ski-jumping), the **women's individual large hill competition**. That means both men and women will compete in normal and large hill events, as well as a [mixed team event](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/what-is-the-new-ski-jumping-mixed-team-event), which made its debut in the 2022 Beijing Games.\n\nMen have one additional ski jumping medal event, which is rebranding this year: the **super team**, a new format that replaces the traditional four-person team competition with pairs of two competing in up to three jumps. Olympics [organizers say](https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/milano-cortina-2026\/news\/what-is-men-super-team-ski-jumping) the restructuring makes the competition more dynamic and paves the way for smaller nations to participate.","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5637261/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering
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Meta Title	New Olympic sports: Ski mountaineering and other events : NPR
Meta Description	Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.
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Boilerpipe Text	Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, in February 2025, a year before the sport makes its debut at the Winter Olympics. Antonio Calanni/AP hide caption toggle caption Antonio Calanni/AP Want more Olympics updates? Get our behind-the-scenes newsletter for what it's like to be at these Games. These Winter Olympics will feature a new sport for the first time in over three decades. While the Games regularly add events within existing disciplines, they haven't introduced an entirely new sport since the return of skeleton in 2002. That changes this year with the debut of ski mountaineering, aka "skimo." The sport, which involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain, will feature three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay. That's in addition to five brand new competitions in longtime Winter Olympic sports — for a grand total of eight new medal opportunities at this year's Games. Here's what to know about them. The new sport: ski mountaineering 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. But the sport known as skimo really took off in the 21st century, hosting its first world championships in France in 2002 and establishing a World Cup circuit two years later. It was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, and the following year was approved for inclusion in Milano Cortina — a fitting country for its Olympic debut, since the sport has a long history and many international champions in Italy. Ski mountaineering competitions will be held in the Valtellina Valley town of Bormio, at the same venue as Alpine skiing. The U.S. team narrowly qualified for the Games in a high-stakes Utah race in early December , the very last chance for teams to earn Olympic ranking points. The mixed relay team of Anna Gibson and Cam Smith won its race by a minute and a half on home snow, beating rival Canada to take home a gold medal and secure for Team USA the continent's last Olympics spot. It wasn't just a major victory, but a chance for Team USA to educate curious Instagram followers about the sport itself. New events within skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls The other new events are additional variations of existing competitions, giving more athletes — particularly women — a chance to compete: There's dual moguls , a freestyle skiing event in which two athletes compete side by side, performing aerial tricks on two jumps of a bumpy course. Traditional moguls, featuring one skier at a time, have been part of the Winter Games since the 1990s. This year will feature both men's and women's dual moguls. Another new event is mixed team skeleton , which pairs one man and one woman from the same country to race down an ice track head-first on a small sled. This year also marks the debut of women's doubles luge , in which two women from the same country double up on the same sled to race down the track, feet-first. The existing doubles luge competition will officially become a men's event, which it effectively has been since the 1960s, since women were technically eligible but never previously participated. Ski jumping is also getting a brand new event , the women's individual large hill competition . That means both men and women will compete in normal and large hill events, as well as a mixed team event , which made its debut in the 2022 Beijing Games. Men have one additional ski jumping medal event, which is rebranding this year: the super team , a new format that replaces the traditional four-person team competition with pairs of two competing in up to three jumps. Olympics organizers say the restructuring makes the competition more dynamic and paves the way for smaller nations to participate.
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[![](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/10/24/pm_new_tile_2022_sq-e543deddd0a46a98be481b46e6a72efa6b52236f-s100-c100.jpg) Planet Money](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money) - [![](https://media.npr.org/chrome/nprplus/logo.jpg?s=100) Get NPR+](https://plus.npr.org/?utm_medium=nprweb&source=globalsubnav) - [More Podcasts & Shows](https://www.npr.org/podcasts-and-shows/) - [Search](https://www.npr.org/search/) - [Newsletters](https://www.npr.org/newsletters/) - [NPR Shop](https://shopnpr.org/) - [![](https://cdn.optimizely.com/img/11107397707/70256d3ff60441b1a8690a464256b0cc.svg)JOIN NPR+](https://plus.npr.org/) - [Sign In](https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5637261/winter-olympics-new-sports-ski-mountaineering)Personalize Your Experience - [![NPR Music](https://prod-eks-static-assets.npr.org/chrome_svg/music-logo-dark.svg) ![NPR Music](https://prod-eks-static-assets.npr.org/chrome_svg/music-logo-light.svg)](https://www.npr.org/music/) - [Tiny Desk](https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/) - [New Music Friday](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/606254804/new-music-friday) - [All Songs Considered](https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/) - [Music Features](https://www.npr.org/sections/music-features) - [Live Sessions](https://www.npr.org/series/770565791/npr-music-live-sessions) - [The Best Music of 2025](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/g-s1-99930/best-music-of-2025) - [About NPR](https://www.npr.org/about/) - [Diversity](https://www.npr.org/diversity/) - [Support](https://www.npr.org/support/) - [Careers](https://www.npr.org/careers/) - [Press](https://www.npr.org/series/750003/press-room/) - [Ethics](https://www.npr.org/ethics/) New Olympic sports: Ski mountaineering and other events Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events. [![Illustration of the Olympic torch.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/800x800+0+0/resize/100/quality/85/format/png/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F09%2Fd4%2Fe235eb934809bb3556bbd8d6dc9e%2Folympics-torch.png)Special Series 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics](https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-104526/2026-olympics) # The Winter Olympics get 8 new events, including the first new sport in decades February 5, 20267:05 AM ET By [Rachel Treisman](https://www.npr.org/people/776048102/rachel-treisman) #### What is 'ski mountaineering,' the new sport added to the Winter Olympics? **Listen· 4:02** 4-Minute Listen Playlist [Transcript](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5637261) Toggle more options - [Download](https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2026/02/20260204_atc_what_is_ski_mountaineering_the_new_sport_added_to_the_winter_olympics.mp3?t=progseg&e=nx-s1-5653919&p=2&seg=1&d=242&size=3881214&sc=siteplayer&aw_0_1st.playerid=siteplayer) - Embed Embed `<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5637261/nx-s1-9635367" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">` - [Transcript](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5637261) ![Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy in February 2025.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6783x4522+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2F6f%2Fa5761d9e48cc91c35b1cf83d0181%2Fap26005558494462.jpg) Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, in February 2025, a year before the sport makes its debut at the Winter Olympics. Antonio Calanni/AP hide caption toggle caption** Antonio Calanni/AP Want more Olympics updates? [*Get our behind-the-scenes newsletter](https://www.npr.org/newsletter/winter-olympics) for what it's like to be at these Games.* * These Winter Olympics will feature a new sport for the first time in over three decades. While the Games regularly add events within existing disciplines, they haven't introduced an entirely new sport since the [return of skeleton](https://www.npr.org/2002/02/20/1138375/olympic-skeleton) in 2002. [![One of the rock walls covered in dinosaur tracks.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/250x250+70+0/resize/100/quality/85/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8f%2Fa9%2Fa1ca36d14b71a25651d340ac696a%2Fdinosaurs1.jpg)](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/17/nx-s1-5647391/dinosaur-tracks-italy-olympics) ### [2026 Milan Cortina Olympics](https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-104526/2026-olympics) ### [Italy makes a surprising discovery ahead of the Winter Olympics: dinosaur tracks](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/17/nx-s1-5647391/dinosaur-tracks-italy-olympics) That changes this year with the debut of ski mountaineering, aka "skimo." The sport, which involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain, will feature three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay. That's in addition to five brand new competitions in longtime Winter Olympic sports — for a grand total of eight new medal opportunities at this year's Games. Here's what to know about them. ### The new sport: ski mountaineering 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. Sponsor Message 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](https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/ski-mountaineering-101-competition-format) (with an elevation gain of 460 feet compared to 230 in the sprint). [![Illustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/600x600+1200+0/resize/100/quality/85/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc9%2Fd6%2Ff0216f7e4b399e86419b42b12344%2Frgttg.jpg)](https://www.npr.org/newsletter/winter-olympics) Illustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter. NPR hide caption toggle caption NPR [![Illustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1067x600+733+0/resize/400/quality/85/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc9%2Fd6%2Ff0216f7e4b399e86419b42b12344%2Frgttg.jpg)](https://www.npr.org/newsletter/winter-olympics) Illustration for the Rachel Goes to the Games newsletter. NPR hide caption toggle caption NPR ## [Rachel Goes to the Games](https://www.npr.org/newsletter/winter-olympics) [Join our behind-the-scenes Olympics newsletter](https://www.npr.org/newsletter/winter-olympics) According to [Team USA](https://www.teamusa.com/news/2024/march/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ski-mountaineering), 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. But the sport known as skimo really took off in the 21st century, hosting its first world championships in France in 2002 and establishing a World Cup circuit two years later. It was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, and the following year was approved for inclusion in Milano Cortina — a fitting country for its Olympic debut, since the sport has a long history and many international champions in Italy. Ski mountaineering competitions will be held in the Valtellina Valley town of Bormio, at the same venue as Alpine skiing. The U.S. team narrowly qualified for the Games in a high-stakes Utah [race in early December](http://olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/anna-gibson-cameron-smith-dazzle-home-crowd-ski-mountaineering-world-cup-solitude/), the very last chance for teams to earn Olympic ranking points. Sponsor Message The mixed relay team of Anna Gibson and Cam Smith won its race by a [minute and a half](https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/sports/olympics/anna-gibson-u-s-win-world-cup-skimo-race-and-qualify-for-olympics/article_284d7dfa-5a44-4ddc-b5cc-28825f68480d.html) on home snow, beating rival Canada to take home a gold medal and secure for Team USA the continent's last Olympics spot. It wasn't just a major victory, but a chance for Team USA to educate curious Instagram followers about the sport itself. > [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSJVXB2kaQy/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Team USA (@teamusa)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSJVXB2kaQy/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading) ### New events within skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls The other new events are additional variations of existing competitions, giving more athletes — particularly women — a chance to compete: There's dual moguls, a [freestyle skiing event](https://www.olympics.com/en/news/what-is-the-freestyle-skiing-dual-moguls-event) in which two athletes compete side by side, performing aerial tricks on two jumps of a bumpy course. Traditional moguls, featuring one skier at a time, have been part of the Winter Games since the 1990s. This year will feature both men's and women's dual moguls. Another new event is mixed team skeleton, which pairs one man and one woman from the same country to [race down an ice track](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/what-is-skeleton-mixed-team-event-explainer-all-answers) head-first on a small sled. [![This photo of Colorado's Arapahoe Basin ski area shows early season snow on peaks. Also seen on the peaks are some structures, fences and conifer trees.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1943x1943+486+0/resize/100/quality/85/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc3%2F1b%2Fef8d22a84ca986676e45036cadf2%2F202511128-november-mountains-snow-arapahoe-basin-hwv-002.jpg)](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/01/nx-s1-5545712/us-ski-resorts-steep-drop-international-travel-politics) ### [National](https://www.npr.org/sections/national/) ### [U.S. ski resorts are bracing for a steep drop in international travel due to politics](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/01/nx-s1-5545712/us-ski-resorts-steep-drop-international-travel-politics) [![Katie Ledecky scored two of America's forty Olympic gold medals in the Paris Summer Games. The U.S. tied with China for the most gold, but the U.S. dominated the overall count with 126 medals.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2862x2862+716+0/resize/100/quality/85/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa9%2F37%2Ffb726a314003aa47d0223cc8cb08%2Fgettyimages-2165145036.jpg)](https://www.npr.org/2024/08/11/nx-s1-5071150/paris-olympics-medal-total-us-gold) ### [2024 Paris Olympics](https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-12714/2024-paris-olympics) ### [The final Olympic medal tally puts the U.S. on top in Paris](https://www.npr.org/2024/08/11/nx-s1-5071150/paris-olympics-medal-total-us-gold) This year also marks the debut of women's doubles luge, in which two women from the same country [double up](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) on the same sled to race down the track, feet-first. The existing [doubles luge](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) competition will officially become a men's event, which it effectively has been since the 1960s, since women were technically eligible but never previously participated. Ski jumpingis also getting a brand [new event](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/sports/ski-jumping), the women's individual large hill competition. That means both men and women will compete in normal and large hill events, as well as a [mixed team event](https://www.olympics.com/en/news/what-is-the-new-ski-jumping-mixed-team-event), which made its debut in the 2022 Beijing Games. Men have one additional ski jumping medal event, which is rebranding this year: the super team, a new format that replaces the traditional four-person team competition with pairs of two competing in up to three jumps. Olympics [organizers say](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/what-is-men-super-team-ski-jumping) the restructuring makes the competition more dynamic and paves the way for smaller nations to participate. - [2026 Winter Olympics](https://www.npr.org/tags/735589066/2026-winter-olympics) - [2026 Olympics](https://www.npr.org/tags/g-s1-102650/2026-olympics) - [winter sports](https://www.npr.org/tags/389577441/winter-sports) - Facebook - Flipboard - Email ###### Read & Listen - [Home](https://www.npr.org/) - [News](https://www.npr.org/sections/news/) - [Culture](https://www.npr.org/sections/culture/) - [Music](https://www.npr.org/music/) - [Podcasts & Shows](https://www.npr.org/podcasts-and-shows) ###### Connect - [Newsletters](https://www.npr.org/newsletters/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/NPR/) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/npr/) - [Press](https://www.npr.org/series/750003/press-room/) - [Public Editor](https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/) - [Corrections](https://www.npr.org/corrections/) - [Transcripts](https://www.npr.org/transcripts/) - [Contact & Help](https://help.npr.org/contact/s/) ###### About NPR - [Overview](https://www.npr.org/about/) - [Diversity](https://www.npr.org/diversity/) - [NPR Network](https://www.npr.org/network/) - [Accessibility](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/1136563345/accessibility) - [Ethics](https://www.npr.org/ethics/) - [Finances](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/178660742/public-radio-finances) ###### Get Involved - [Support Public Radio](https://www.npr.org/support/) - [Sponsor NPR](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/186948703/corporate-sponsorship) - [NPR Careers](https://www.npr.org/careers/) - [NPR Shop](https://shopnpr.org/) - [NPR Extra](https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-extra/) - [Terms of Use](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179876898/terms-of-use) - [Privacy](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy) - [Your Privacy Choices](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy#yourchoices) - [Text Only](https://text.npr.org/) - © 2026 npr Sponsor Message Sponsor Message [Become an NPR sponsor](https://www.npr.org/about-npr/186948703/corporate-sponsorship) ![NPR Plus logo](https://prod-eks-static-assets.npr.org/chrome_svg/npr-plus/npr-plus-combo-logo.svg) ##### Exclusive benefits ###### Give a little. 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Readable Markdown	![Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy in February 2025.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6783x4522+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2F6f%2Fa5761d9e48cc91c35b1cf83d0181%2Fap26005558494462.jpg) Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, in February 2025, a year before the sport makes its debut at the Winter Olympics. Antonio Calanni/AP **hide caption toggle caption** Antonio Calanni/AP Want more Olympics updates? [*Get our behind-the-scenes newsletter](https://www.npr.org/newsletter/winter-olympics) for what it's like to be at these Games.* These Winter Olympics will feature a new sport for the first time in over three decades. While the Games regularly add events within existing disciplines, they haven't introduced an entirely new sport since the [return of skeleton](https://www.npr.org/2002/02/20/1138375/olympic-skeleton) in 2002. That changes this year with the debut of ski mountaineering, aka "skimo." The sport, which involves hiking up and skiing down a mountain, will feature three events: women's sprint, men's sprint and mixed relay. That's in addition to five brand new competitions in longtime Winter Olympic sports — for a grand total of eight new medal opportunities at this year's Games. Here's what to know about them. ### The new sport: ski mountaineering 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](https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/ski-mountaineering-101-competition-format) (with an elevation gain of 460 feet compared to 230 in the sprint). According to [Team USA](https://www.teamusa.com/news/2024/march/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ski-mountaineering), 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. But the sport known as skimo really took off in the 21st century, hosting its first world championships in France in 2002 and establishing a World Cup circuit two years later. It was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, and the following year was approved for inclusion in Milano Cortina — a fitting country for its Olympic debut, since the sport has a long history and many international champions in Italy. Ski mountaineering competitions will be held in the Valtellina Valley town of Bormio, at the same venue as Alpine skiing. The U.S. team narrowly qualified for the Games in a high-stakes Utah [race in early December](http://olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/anna-gibson-cameron-smith-dazzle-home-crowd-ski-mountaineering-world-cup-solitude/), the very last chance for teams to earn Olympic ranking points. The mixed relay team of Anna Gibson and Cam Smith won its race by a [minute and a half](https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/sports/olympics/anna-gibson-u-s-win-world-cup-skimo-race-and-qualify-for-olympics/article_284d7dfa-5a44-4ddc-b5cc-28825f68480d.html) on home snow, beating rival Canada to take home a gold medal and secure for Team USA the continent's last Olympics spot. It wasn't just a major victory, but a chance for Team USA to educate curious Instagram followers about the sport itself. ### New events within skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls The other new events are additional variations of existing competitions, giving more athletes — particularly women — a chance to compete: There's dual moguls, a [freestyle skiing event](https://www.olympics.com/en/news/what-is-the-freestyle-skiing-dual-moguls-event) in which two athletes compete side by side, performing aerial tricks on two jumps of a bumpy course. Traditional moguls, featuring one skier at a time, have been part of the Winter Games since the 1990s. This year will feature both men's and women's dual moguls. Another new event is mixed team skeleton, which pairs one man and one woman from the same country to [race down an ice track](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/what-is-skeleton-mixed-team-event-explainer-all-answers) head-first on a small sled. This year also marks the debut of women's doubles luge, in which two women from the same country [double up](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) on the same sled to race down the track, feet-first. The existing [doubles luge](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/olympic-events-you-dont-know-what-are-luge-double-events) competition will officially become a men's event, which it effectively has been since the 1960s, since women were technically eligible but never previously participated. Ski jumpingis also getting a brand [new event](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/sports/ski-jumping), the women's individual large hill competition. That means both men and women will compete in normal and large hill events, as well as a [mixed team event](https://www.olympics.com/en/news/what-is-the-new-ski-jumping-mixed-team-event), which made its debut in the 2022 Beijing Games. Men have one additional ski jumping medal event, which is rebranding this year: the super team, a new format that replaces the traditional four-person team competition with pairs of two competing in up to three jumps. Olympics [organizers say](https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/what-is-men-super-team-ski-jumping) the restructuring makes the competition more dynamic and paves the way for smaller nations to participate.
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