The proposal will be voted on in Tokyo on July 20, with five gold medals up for grabs. Alpago and Piancavallo are already beginning to hope to be the venue for the competition
Milano Cortina 2026 could represent the debut of ski mountaineering at the Olympics. We have been talking about this for a while, but now the hope is more concrete. The Executive of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has in fact officially proposed the inclusion of ski mountaineering in the Olympic program of the Winter Games.
Now the proposal must have the approval of Congress, which will discuss and vote in Tokyo on 20-21 July next. The new titles would be five: two men, two women (sprint and individual) and one mixed (relay). The competitions would include the involvement of 48 athletes (including 24 men and 24 women) who will be included in the limit of 2900 athletes for all disciplines. In Italy, the discipline is managed by the Fisi, while at the international level it belongs to the Ismf, and it is growing in popularity and enthusiasts in the Alps.
Ski mountaineering was already part of the program of the Winter Olympic Youth Games (Yog) in Lausanne 2020. In Rome, the Coni Council, in the meantime, has established that the President of Fisi, Flavio Roda, will follow the work of the same body, by virtue of of the role held, and in view of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
“The proposal of the IOC Executive on ski mountaineering is good news for Italy”, commented the president Roda “both because it is a discipline in great growth of enthusiasts in our country, fully eco-sustainable for the mountain environment, and because Italy can count on one of the most successful teams in the world. Now, we await the vote of the Congress ».
If we are working to bring skins into the Games, we are also working to find a venue. The question is far from simple. In fact, there are several territories that have hosted World Cup, European Championships and World Championships in recent years.
Among these, the Alpago which, together with Piancavallo, hosted the World Cup in 2017. The basin has also hosted the World Cup and European Championships and could, in combination with Piancavallo, be a logical venue. The format of the Olympic competitions is different from the traditional one and therefore the tracks would have to be reviewed (also in television mode) and the snow to be guaranteed.
The two locations could be complementary and represent an interesting candidacy. In the province, one could also think of Cortina where there is no shortage of trails and slopes, as well as hotel accommodation. In addition to Veneto, Lombardy also has an interest in hosting ski mountaineering.
The strongest candidacy should be that of Valtellina and, in particular, that of Santa Caterina Valfurva. Here, too, skiing with skins is at home, both in terms of traditions, athletes and events. The match could also be Trentino which will host a stage of the World Cup again next March.