Skimo's Olympic Debut: The Winter Sport Trail Runners Should Be Watching

About this episode

The episode discusses the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering and its relevance to trail runners, featuring insights from expert guests.

Ski mountaineering is about to have its moment, and if you're a trail runner, you should be paying attention. Skimo shares DNA with our sport: the relentless uphill effort, the technical descents, the mountain culture, and a surprising number of athletes who race both. After decades as a European-dominated discipline, skimo makes its Olympic debut at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy. Nikki LaRochelle joins Buzz to break down what skimo is and why trail runners should care. A longtime skimo racer and ultrarunner, with finishes at San Juan Solstice 50 and Canyon de Chelly, Nikki famously Photoshopped herself into a broadcast booth four years ago, manifesting a future she wasn't sure she'd ever reach. This February, she'll be the technical commentator for the Olympic Broadcasting System. She walks listeners through what makes skimo racing so tactically complex: the transitions, the boot packs, the skinning, and the descents that punish any lapse in focus. Then Cam Smith, one half of Team USA's mixed relay duo alongside Anna Gibson, shares what it's like to prepare for the biggest stage in sport. At the Solitude World Cup, Cam and Anna jumped from ranked 13th to first, proving they can…

People in this episode

Guests: Nikki LaRochelle, Cam Smith

Topics covered

• ski mountaineering
• Olympic debut
• trail running
• tactical racing
• mental preparation

Keywords

• ski mountaineering
• Olympics
• trail runners
• Nikki LaRochelle
• Cam Smith
• tactical racing
• mental game

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Italy, San Juan Solstice 50, Canyon de Chelly, Solitude World Cup

More episodes of The Buzz

• Matt Carpenter on Records, Obsession, and Knowing When to Stop · May 5, 2026 · 1h 14m
• Dave Mackey on the Accident That Changed Everything, and the Career He Built After · April 21, 2026 · 49 min
• Jason Blevins on Water, Snow, and the Future of Mountain Towns · April 7, 2026 · 55 min
• The Winningest 100-Mile Runner on Earth: Karl "Speedgoat" Meltzer on Chasing 100 Hundreds, the Hoka Legacy, and What It Means to Live First · March 25, 2026 · 1h 12m
• Computational Physicist, 2,000 Summits, Zero Sponsors: The Anti-Career in Adventure · March 10, 2026 · 51 min
• Skimo's Wild Olympic Debut with Nikki LaRochelle · February 24, 2026 · 27 min