SkySnow – It’s a Thing

And it happened in the Alps this past weekend.

While over here in the West Coast I was happy that we didn’t have to deal with snow the Europeans are leaning into this white stuff and just create competition around it.

From the article announcing the World Championships:

The SkySnow discipline – running on snow at altitude with micro-crampons – was introduced as a natural extension of skyrunning during the winter season. The first SkySnow World Championships in 2022 in Sierra Nevada, Spain, were an immediate success with athletes participating from 15 countries. In this second edition, 21 countries from across the globe will battle for the medals and world titles, including the reigning World Champions, Luca Del Pero from Italy and Virginia Pérez from Spain.

The events were organized by Tarvisio Trail Running and held in Tarvisio, North Eastern Italy, and offered two disciplines:

• Vertical: The Monte Lussari Vertical – 3.6 km long and 974m of vertical climb, will take place in the dark, athletes illuminating the course with their headlamps. 
• Classic: Monte Mangart Winter Trail: 15.4 km long with 515m vertical climb.

The nighttime run looks absolutely spectacular and I can see why the ISF is eyeing to get this sport into the Olympics.