SkySnow is a discipline in skyrunning that involves running on snow wearing microcrampons. The discipline hosted the first ever world championships in Andalusia, Spain, on 4–5 February 2022. [1]
SkySnow as a discipline was inspired by the early days of skyrunning, which often included running over snowfields and glaciers. [1] The discipline started in 2012 with the first edition of Snow Running Sierra Nevada, hosted in Andalusia. [2] The first World Championships was held in 2022 with 48 finishers. [3]
The SkySnow World Championships has been held since 2022. The first edition was held in Andalusia at the Sierra Nevada Ski and Mountain Resort. [1]
| Edition | Year | Nation | Vertical | Classic | details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2022 |  Spain (Sierra Nevada) | Sierra Nevada Ski Station | 4 February | Sierra Nevada Ski Station | 5 February | [4] |
| 2nd | 2024 |  Italy (Tarvisio) | Tarvisio | 8 March | Mangart | 9 March | [5] |
Men's Vertical
| Women's vertical
|
Men's classic
| Women's classic
|
Men's combined
| Women's combined
|
Andalusia is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. Andalusia is located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a historical nationality and a national reality. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, and Seville. Its capital city is Seville. The seat of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia is located in the city of Granada.
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 31 miles (50 km) and up to 3100 miles. World Championships are held by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) for 50 km, 100 km, 24 hours, and ultra trail running. The Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) holds World Championships for 48 hours and 6 days. World Records are ratified and recognized by World Athletics, the IAU, and by GOMU.
Sierra Nevada National Park is a national park located in the Sierra Nevada within the provinces of Granada and Almería in Andalusia, Spain. It was declared a national park on 14 January 1999. It stretches from the Alpujarra to El Marquesado and the Lecrín Valley, covering a total area of 85,883 hectares, making it the largest national park in Spain until the expansion of the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park from 10,021 to 90,800 hectares in 2019.
Olympic Valley is an unincorporated community located in Placer County, California northwest of Tahoe City along California State Highway 89 on the banks of the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe. It is home to Palisades Tahoe, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Olympic Valley is the smallest resort area to host the Olympic Winter Games.
The Skyrunner World Series is an annual international championship of skyrunning and the official International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) race circuit for mountain running. Each year the Skyrunner World Series presents a global Sky Racing calendar, attracting mountain running athletes from almost every country.
Skyrunning is a sport of mountain running above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where the minimum average incline is 6% over the total distance and at least 5% has an incline of 30% or more. The climbing difficulty does not exceed II grade UIAA. Poles, crampons, and hands may be used to aid progress. The governing body is the International Skyrunning Federation.
The Sierra Nevada Ski Station is a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada in the province of Granada in southeastern Spain. The ski area is on the northwestern slopes of Veleta, the third highest peak in Peninsular Spain and the most southerly ski resort in Europe.
Tove Alexandersson is a Swedish foot orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner, trail runner, ski mountaineer and skysnow runner. Alexandersson has won gold medals at world championships in five different sports plus a silver medal in a sixth sport, and has won a total of 19 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships, making her the second most successful orienteer in history by number of gold medals at World Championships, behind Simone Niggli-Luder. Alexandersson holds the record for the number of gold medals in a row at the World Orienteering Championships, winning 11 in a row between 2018 and 2022.
Emelie Tina Forsberg is a Swedish athlete specializing in trail running and ski mountaineering. She has won repeated victories in different disciplines, including European and World Championships.
The 2000 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships were held in Sierra Nevada, Andalusia, Spain from 7 to 11 June 2000. The disciplines included were cross-country, downhill, dual slalom, and trials. The event was the 11th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and the 15th edition of the UCI Trials World Championships.
Skyline Scotland is a set of annual skyrunning races which take place on consecutive days in the mountains around Kinlochleven in Lochaber. The main races are the Mamores VK, the Ring of Steall Skyrace, the Ben Nevis Ultra and the Glen Coe Skyline.
Jasmin Karina Paris is a British runner who has been a national fell running champion and who has set records for the Bob Graham Round and the Ramsay Round. In 2024, she was the first woman to successfully complete the Barkley Marathons.
The Skyrunning World Championships are skyrunning competitions held for the first time in 2010 and organised by the International Skyrunning Federation. The second edition was held in 2014 and thereafter the championships have taken place on a biennial basis.
The International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) is the world governing body for skyrunning. The ISF today counts 41 Member nations. The Federation of Sports at Altitude (FSA) used to be the organization which governed and managed the sports of skyrunning. It has been replaced by the International Skyrunning Federation.
Elisa Desco is an Italian female sky runner and mountain runner, world champion at the 2014 Skyrunning World Championships held in Chamonix, and European champion at the 2008 European Mountain Running Championships held in Zell am Harmersbach.
The Skyrunning European Championships are biennial skyrunning competitions, held for the first time in 2009 and organised by International Skyrunning Federation.
Ragna Debats is a Spanish-born Dutch female snowshoe runner, trail runner and sky runner. She was European champion in skyrunning (2017) and bronze medal at the world championships in the trail running (2016). In the 34th edition of the Marathon des Sables (2019) she became the first dutch person to win the race.
Stian Angermund, is a Norwegian trail runner and mountain runner who won the 2021 Amazing Thailand World Mountain and Trail Running Championships at the 40KM distance.
Ekaterina Mityaeva is a Russian athlete specializing in trail running, skyrunning, mountain running and ultra running. She is a winner and prize-winner of the international competitions and Championships of Russia.
The 2022 Skyrunning World Championships was 7th edition Skyrunning World Championships and took place in Ossola, Italy from 9–11 September 2022. The main town of the area, where the teams will be based, was Domodossola.
