Park City Skimo team. Photo: PCSS

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — Grif Briley, Ethan Romer, and Wes Perkins, members of the Park City Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) U18 national team swept the podium at a competition in Arapahoe Basin (A Basin), Colorado over the weekend and Sam Kirschner, whose on the U14 national team, snagged a respective podium spot as well.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place Skimo finishers on the podium representing Park City Ski and Snowboard in Colorado. — Park City Skimo athletes. Photo: Pete Stoughton/PCSS

Along with Utah and Colorado, the competing teams represented Western states including Montana and Wyoming. Nearly 85 youth athletes race and train in the state of Utah with 32 of those on the Park City team. The other Utah club is Silverfork Skimo.

Skimo, which will make its Olympic debut in the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, has been around as a youth sport at Park City Ski and Snowboard (PCSS) since 2016, but has grown significantly the past couple of years.

Racers, on off-piste courses, race up near the summit of backcountry mountains, usually utilizing combinations of crampons, skins, and rondonee gear. The winner is the first to cross the finish line at the bottom of the mountain. The sport combines the endurance of a cross-country skier with the skill and strength of an alpine skier. Alpine, cross-country, all-mountain, and/or big mountain skiing skills behoove proficient performances. There are a variety of race distances and styles including:

Uphill only (25 min to 1 h)
Multiple ascents and descents (1 h- multi-hour)
Team Relay races (12-16m per leg)
Team of 2 or 3 traveling & racing together (3 h+ to multi-day stage)
Sprint race combining all the skills under (4 min in heats and finals like cross country skiing)

Members of the Park City Skimo team. Photo: Pete Stoughton/PCSS

The primary objective of the Park City Ski Mountaineering Team is to develop both the skills and passion for ski touring and ski mountaineering and foster a lifelong love for both the outdoors and for sport. Skiers optimize specific ski mountaineering skills and fitness to develop proficiency in the sport.

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“Our goal is to create a passion for backcountry skiing with a twist endurance and speed.” Pete Stoughton, PCSS Events and Development Director/Skimo Coach said to TownLift.

PCSS Skimo co-coach, Adam Loomis, was, during this race, in a different ski town in Colorado coaching PCSS ski jumping and nordic combined after his own skimo podium placement days prior in the Wasatch Mountains as a competitor.

PCSS Skimo team’s training occurs at the Utah Olympic Park (OUP), Park City Mountain, and, as Stoughton put it, “Anywhere there’s snow.”

Up next:

– Crowbar, a backcountry race on January 22 in Logan, UT

– PCSS uphill series starting January 28 at the UOP

– National championships in Vail, CO on February 26

– Jr. national championships/Wasatch Powderkeg race at Brighton, UT on March 19