Ski season wrap up

Photo: Josh Lawton (Training Peaks)

La Sportiva Ski Team athletes have been busy chasing podiums on the North American ski mountaineering racing scene and earning valuable World Cup points for the sport’s Olympic debut in 2026! Here's their season in review: 

Davide Giardini

This winter I got to combine my passion for human powered mountain pursuits both professionally and athletically by working in-house at La Sportiva North America in Boulder, Colorado. 

An early-season trip to SLC to visit SkimoCo (one of the best specialty retailers in America), kick off the Utah Skimo series, and ski tour with local La Sportiva athletes Tom Goth, and Jason & Andy Dorais confirmed that “Greatest Snow on Earth” lives up to the expectations!

Christmas back home in my native Italy allowed me to spend time in Val di Fiemme (La Sportiva HQ) ski touring with R&D colleagues, testing upcoming products in the Dolomites, and reconnecting with family. 

The meat of the season was a whirlwind of weekly travel to sponsored ski events, demos, clinics, and races across Colorado. Some highlights were:

• Winning the Colorado Skimo Cup Series (Wolf Creek, Granby, Winter Park, Vail, Breckenridge) - arguably the best series in the US!

• Podiuming at some of the best US “Grand Courses” and battling it out with other La Sportiva athletes: 2nd at the the Aspen Power of Four, 1st at Telluride Tellurando (the longest & steepest ski mountaineering individual race format in the US), 1st at Breckenridge Five Peaks (North America’s highest ski mountaineering race), 3rd at Heathen Challenge (the longest standing ski mountaineering race in Colorado), 1st at Silverton (the most hardcore ski area in America).

• Attending the Blister Summit in Crested Butte with La Sportiva’s Ski Boots R&D Director as part of his first trip to America, and powder skiing in Marble with Cripple Creek Backcountry (one of the best specialty retailers in America)

• Building the Boulder Skimo programming (Pre-season VK series and strength training, On-Snow Clinics), including launching the first of its kind Boulder Youth Skimo team.

• Enjoying some great pow skiing and spring skiing staying local in the Boulder backyard when not travelling!

Photo: Aspen Ski Company

Joe Demoor

Accomplishments:

• 1st place in the USA Skimo National Point Rankings

• Selected to the US National Ski Mountaineering Team for next season (2025/2026)

• Selected to the US Team for the 2025 World Championships in Morgins, Switzerland (Vertical and Teams races)

• 1st place at the Aspen Power of Four

• Competed in my first Pierra Menta in France (four day stage race with 32,000' of climbing)

“This year was my fourth time racing the Aspen Power of Four. The previous three years I've finished on the podium, so to finally get the win this year was a major highlight of the season. 

My Po4 partner- Jacob Dewey and I also raced together at the ISMF World Championships in Switzerland and the infamous Pierra Menta (a Grand Course race) in France. 

Team racing is the heart of skimo, the traditional discipline of the sport, and finding the right person to team up with is super important and not always easy. Similar to non-racing mountaineering or climbing you need to be able to trust and depend on the person on the other end of the rope. I'm most excited to continue skiing with Jacob and to see what we can accomplish in the longer, "historic", Grand Course races.”

Photo: Jason Dorais

Jason Dorais

“This winter has been pretty low key for me. We had our first kid last year so that’s what I’ve been most excited about! Staying close to home and exploring the Wasatch has been great.”

Photo: Cullen McHale (Eldora)

Meg Cooke

“This winter I raced on the ISMF World Cup circuit for Team Great Britain, including at the 2026 Olympic Test event in Bormio, Italy. 

Closer to home, I competed on the Rocky Mountain Skimo circuit as well as getting in a lot of fun backcountry days in the Front Range. 

While there are a few spring lines I’ve got my eyes on, it’s time to switch gears into mountain running season with a couple of Skyraces coming up soon before jumping into the Cirque Series!”

Photo: Skimo Stats

Tom Goth

Accomplishments: 

• 5th place team at the French National Teams Championships -- The Serre Che Glacier! An old school race from the 90s resurrected this year. An awesome venue and classic team race in the Ecrins massif.

• Had a great battle at Pierra Menta with a strong Canadian team (editor’s note: Nick Elson, also a La Sportiva athlete) for the top North American team. Ended up 16th as the top US team.

• Competing at the ISMF World Championship in Morgins Switzerland individual race for Team USA.

Photo: Xavi Fane (Crested Butte Nordic)

Noah Williams

“I had a great winter racing some Colorado classics as well as some National Cups! 

This sport tends to teach you the hard way and there’s a lot to learn. 

My best performances were at the Powderkeg Vertical (US National Championships) where I placed 6th and at Tellurando in a fun battle (editor’s note: with Davide Giardini, also a La Sportiva athlete) where I ended up 2nd. 

We’re super lucky in Colorado to have @rocky_mountain_skimo (thanks Mark!), @cosmicskimo (thanks Joe!), and @cbnordic who all put on amazing skimo events for nothing more than the love of the sport.

 Now that skimo season is ending, I’m running more as I gear up for the Broken Arrow 46k and Lavaredo 80k at the end of June.”

Photo: ISMF

Kelly Wolf

“My ISMF World Cup season was largely centered around the Mixed Relay and Sprint disciplines as these are the events that will be featured in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Bormio (skimo’s inaugural Olympics!), Italy. 

The Mixed Relay is a team race consisting of an individual time trial for qualification, then 2 alternating laps on the course each for the female and male on the team. It's a fast and exciting race with close margins, about 30 minutes in duration. 

Coming from an endurance background these short and explosive events were a challenge for me, but I really enjoyed being in the mix this season with the awesome goal of qualifying for the Olympics, being a part of Team USA, and the great opportunity to work on my weaknesses!

Taking a break from the shorter disciplines, my partner Jessie and I were able to race the Sellaronda Skimarathon, a night-time marathon loop on skis up, down, and around the Dolomites going over the 4 passes surrounding the Sella group (editor’s note: the start/finish is just 1 hour car ride away from La Sportiva’s headquarters in Ziano di Fiemme). This is a huge race in Italy, the most attended skimo race in the world (over 1000 people), and it did not disappoint! We finished 3rd place for the female podium with a time of 3h47’. I was totally in my happy place getting to race an endurance event, being tethered to a best friend, and finishing with a midnight pasta party!

I ended my ski season in Tromso, Norway, the “Capital of the Arctic” at the ISMF World Cup final. Coming from spring-like temperatures in mainland Europe, it felt like being in a snowgloble, but when we got to catch a view, the contrast of skiing above the fjords was incredible!”

Photo: Skimo Stats

Nick Elson

“The highlight for me this year (so far) was racing the Pierra Menta, the classic Grande Course teams race in Areches Beaufort, France. Jessie McAuley and I finished 12th, which was the best North American result this year and the best Canadian result ever. 

I also raced for Canada at the World Championship in Switzerland but unfortunately got sick during the races. I did finish 39th in the Vertical race.

I'm still figuring out my running season but I am healthy and looking forward to racing a bunch this summer, maybe some Cirque Series!”

Photo: Kylee Toth

Kylee Toth

“This season was all about Ski Mountaineering Racing for me. 

I competed in eight ISMF World Cups and one World Championship across many countries. I was pleased to finish as the second-ranked North American female in the Olympics-bound Sprint discipline. I was proud to help Team Canada in the effort to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina, Italy where ski mountaineering will make its debut.

Outside of racing, I was lucky to tackle some incredible ski mountaineering objectives in Chamonix, Norway, Switzerland, and of course, my home mountains in the Canadian Rockies — a place that will always hold my heart.

As always, I’m incredibly grateful for the world-class gear from La Sportiva. Their lightweight carbon boots and skis continue to lead the way in ski mountaineering performance.

Taking a little off-season break now — and looking ahead to the final Olympic qualification World Cup in December 2025.”