The North American leg of the Ski Mountaineering, or skimo, World Cup will visit Solitude Mountain Resort this weekend.
More than 200 athletes from almost 30 countries will hike up and ski down a course for their chance at gold starting Dec. 6. On the U.S. roster will be Park City skier Griffin Briley who took home two medals at the 2025 World Championships in Switzerland earlier this year.
Head of USA Skimo Sarah Cookler said this weekend’s competition comes with high stakes.
“It's an important race on multiple aspects,” she said on KPCW’s “The Mountain Life.” “It's the last Olympic qualification race for the sprint and mixed relay disciplines, which are the two disciplines for the Olympics. But it's also the first race of the 2025-2026 World Cup season.”
The 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina will be the sport’s first time on the world stage, and qualifying for the Games will be difficult.
Cookler said there is steep competition between the U.S. and Canada.
“So Italy has two spots, Spain and France each have two spots. And then it goes down the list of World Cup standings and continental spots,” she said. “This is where it gets exciting for this World Cup, this last World Cup in Utah, there is only one quota spot allotted to North America. So that comes down to the result of Canada versus the U.S. at this World Cup.”
She said the mixed relay will be the most important event this weekend.
“It's a matter of one man and one woman teaming up to get this quota spot,” she said.
The competition at Solitude begins at 8 a.m. Saturday and the races are free to watch.
