{"id":798495,"date":"2019-08-13T15:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T21:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/steamboat-springs-winter-sports-club-adds-ski-mountaineering-program\/"},"modified":"2019-08-13T15:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T21:28:00","slug":"steamboat-springs-winter-sports-club-adds-ski-mountaineering-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/steamboat-springs-winter-sports-club-adds-ski-mountaineering-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club adds ski mountaineering program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Becky Kuhl climbs during the 2017 Cody\u2019s Challenge at Steamboat Resort.<\/strong>
Steamboat Pilot File<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Combining two great loves of the locals, the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is adding ski mountaineering to its list of programs.<\/p>\n

Registration opened this week for the sport that entails hiking up the mountain while wearing or carrying skis, and then, skiing down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s becoming popular, and for me, it fits with Steamboat\u2019s outdoor community really well,\u201d SSWSC freeskiing head coach Tony Lodico said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very Steamboat-y kind of sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ski mountaineering, abbreviated skimo, combines backcountry skiing and freeskiing, and interested athletes can either improve their skills or compete. Training sessions will include ski touring, off-piste skiing, technical skill improvement and backcountry safety education.<\/p>\n

The program is available to skiers ages 15 to 21 and runs from October to April.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more required of skiers interested in skimo, as they not only have to safely navigate down the mountain but also up. With that, interested skiers need a helmet and skis as well as a beacon, probe and shovel.<\/p>\n

The SSWSC will hold an informational session on ski mountaineering on Sept. 18 at the Fireplace Room at Howelsen Hill Lodge.<\/p>\n

The program will spend some time going over avalanche safety and rescue as well as route finding in the backcountry.<\/p>\n

\u201cPotentially, one of our athletes could have a little more knowledge when they\u2019re out with their parents \u2014 they may have more knowledge than their parents,\u201d Lodico said. \u201cAny way we can pump more safety into the sport, that would be really good. A lot of our plan is to spend time at Howelsen and traditional cross-country trails. We\u2019re not planning any extreme mountaineering.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program will conclude by participating in Cody\u2019s Challenge at Steamboat Resort. This past winter, the challenge hosted 190 racers in its 11th year. Proceeds from the event support the Cody St. John Memorial Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to professional ski patrollers for continuing medical education.<\/p>\n

The Steamboat Resort has an uphill policy limiting access to certain trails at specific times. Those looking to go up the mountain on their own power need to obtain an arm band in exchange for a signed uphill access policy form.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been incredible partners to the sports so far,\u201d Charlie MacAurther said of the resort. \u201cWe have one of the best uphill policies in the state, in the country. \u2026 We\u2019re incredibly fortunate with the policy the resort provides and the freedom we have to explore the mountain almost without limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacArthur is part of a local skimo group, congregated on Facebook through the Steamboat Ski Ascent Series page.<\/p>\n

The group has been around for about eight years and started by putting on last-minute local races. Over the years, the group has become more formal and organized, hosting four or five short, pre-planned races per year, primarily taking place in the evening.<\/p>\n

Aside from the local competitions and Cody\u2019s Challenge, Steamboat doesn\u2019t offer much for competitive skimo athletes. Other places around Colorado are ahead of the curve. Summit Skimo is even helping competitors into the Youth Olympic Games, where skimo was just added as a sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteamboat is behind the ball a bit, but that\u2019s not to say that the recreational side is in any way,\u201d MacArthur said. \u201cAlmost anybody you encounter, locals here, have a set up now whether they go up twice a year or every day. Almost everybody\u2019s tried it at some point and has some level of passion for it. It\u2019s grown quite a bit in Steamboat.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story is from SteamboatPilot.com<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Becky Kuhl climbs during the 2017 Cody\u2019s Challenge at Steamboat Resort.Steamboat Pilot File STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Combining two great loves of the locals, the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is adding ski mountaineering to its list of programs. Registration opened this week for the sport that entails hiking up the mountain while wearing or carrying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-798495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 02:46:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}