Hohhot, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ski mountaineering: a new event for the Centennial Olympic Games, both familiar and unfamiliar.
Xinhua News Agency reporters He Shuchen and Wang Xuebing.
100 years ago, ski mountaineering was officially part of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. Over the past 100 years, the Winter Olympics program has been adjusted several times, and ski mountaineering has been absent from the Olympic arena for decades. On July 20, 2021, the 138th plenary session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to approve ski mountaineering as an official sport for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The "14th Winter" ski mountaineering competition held in Zhalantun City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was the first appearance of the project in the National Winter Games.
The ski mountaineering competition at the Winter Games will be the same as the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics, with three gold medals in the men's and women's sprint events and the mixed relay. Li Zhenlong, competition director of the Alpine Sports Department of the Mountaineering Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China, introduced that ski mountaineering consists of mountaineering climbing, equipment conversion, and descent through the flag gate.
Ski mountaineering is one of the closest ski sports to the traditional way of travel for the inhabitants of the snow-capped mountains in winter. In the anti-slip belt marching link, athletes glue snowboards** similar to animal fur on the surface of the snowboard, and use barbed fluff to provide grip during the slope climbing process. The backboard march simulates the process of hiking the mountain on the backboard when people encounter rough mountain roads and cannot walk on skis, and the process of sliding down the flag gate simulates the process of people sliding down the mountain around obstacles.
The traditional fur skiing in Xinjiang and the traditional skiing methods of ethnic minorities in Northeast China are similar to ski mountaineering. Li Wenmao, director of the alpine sports department of the Mountaineering Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China, said.
According to the old people of the Oroqen ethnic group in the Oroqen Nationality Township of Nanmu in Zhalantun City, the traditional snowboard is called "Qinna" in the Oroqen language, which is made of birch trees that have been dried in the shade for more than two years, and the wild boar skin is tied under the ski with a roe cure skin cut into small thin strips. Huang Xiuju, a member of the Propaganda Committee of Aoluguya Ewenki Ethnic Township in Genhe City, introduced: "In the early years, the Evenki people used hunted lynx, roe deer and other animal fur to tie them to pine trees to make traditional skis 'Jinle', which was used to chase wild beasts in the Linhai Snow Plain, which was a necessary transportation hunting tool for the Evenki people in winter. The "Qinna" of the Oroqen people, the "Kengulen" of the Daur people, and the "Jinle" of the Evenki people are not only the means of passage for the survival of the ethnic minorities in Northeast China, but also the early prototype of ski mountaineering in China.
In the 70s of the 20th century, ski mountaineering gradually developed into an alpine adventure extreme sport based on comprehensive techniques of snow mountain climbing and supplemented by skiing, and this sport with a history of more than 100 years has a more refined development direction. Ski mountaineering uses narrower and lighter snowboards than everyday skis, with better climbing performance and cross-country performance. Ski hiking boots need to be both stiff and lightweight, combining the functions of ski boots and hiking boots to provide sufficient support for the athlete and ensure comfort. The ski mountaineering snowboard binder can adjust the mode according to the needs of the terrain, there is a gliding mode and a walking mode, in which the walking mode is fixed on one side in front of the boot, which is convenient for walking on the board.
Unlike animal fur, which is tied to the bottom of the snowboard, ski climbing straps can be quickly installed and removed. When going up the mountain, the tether strap at one end of the anti-slip belt is stuck in the groove at the front end of the snowboard, and the rest of the strap fits perfectly with the snowboard; Peel off the anti-slip belt directly when descending the mountain, which can glide more smoothly.
For Chinese, ski mountaineering is both familiar and unfamiliar. Li Wenmao said that in the alpine snow field, this sport was an early prototype, but it was introduced as a professional sport in China relatively late. In 2007, China introduced ski mountaineering events, initially mostly amateur athletes, but since the establishment of the national team in 2022, more than 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have established professional sports teams. At the 2023 World Ski Mountaineering Championships, the Chinese team won three gold medals, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in the event.
Many domestic ski mountaineers have switched from middle-distance running and cross-country skiing events, and have the advantage of endurance and coordination during the first half of the climb, which is especially important in ski mountaineering competitions. Li Zhenlong introduced, especially the athletes in China's plateau and sub-plateau regions have obvious advantages. Among the athletes participating in the "14th Winter" ski mountaineering competition, Tibetan athletes accounted for one-third.
Yuzhen Ram, who will shine in the U20 sprint competition at the World Ski Mountaineering Championships in 2023, won the first gold medal in history for the Chinese team at the World Ski Mountaineering Championships. In this "14th Winter" ski mountaineering sprint competition, she won the championship again and won the first gold medal in the whole winter meeting. Yuzhen Lam's hometown is in Gongbu Jiangda County, Nyingchi City, with an average altitude of about 3,600 meters, and when she was a child, she climbed the mountain with her parents to pick Cordyceps and matsutake mushrooms, which exercised her physical fitness. In the "14th Winter" field, Yuzhen Ram overcame his fear of steep slope descents after long-term targeted training, and overtook his opponents to cross the line first in the descent process that he was not good at.
Chinese athletes have great potential, and the training has been significantly improved. Li Zhenlong said that the national team will strengthen training in every link to make up for weaknesses and strengthen advantages. "Strive to win a medal at the Winter Olympics and let the sport take root in China. (ENDS).