With the 2026 Winter Olympics a little under a year away, elite-level athletes are busily preparing for the global event. 

This is especially true for ski mountaineering athletes who will be making their debut at the 25th Winter Olympiad. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, ski mountaineering will be part of the program. Three different races will be showcased. 

In the lead up to the Winter Olympics, which will kick off next February, American ski mountaineering athletes grew more accustomed to competing at the international level by traveling to Morgins, Switzerland, for the International Ski Mountaineering Federation’s 2025 World Championships. 

Among the talented crop of American athletes were several Summit County skiers who competed throughout the six-day competition. 

The first race Summit County skiers got the opportunity to race in was the vertical race on Tuesday, March 4. John Rauen of Breckenridge competed in the men’s vertical race. 

Rauen took 29th overall among the 88-athlete field and was the fourth American. Cameron Smith was the top American in 20th, John Gaston took 21st and Joseph Demoor finished in 23rd. Dillon’s Sam Burke took 67th in the men’s field and 23rd in the U23 field. 

On the women’s side, Breckenridge’s Grace Staberg took 11th in the U23 vertical race and 37th overall in the women’s field. Griffin Briley, of Park City, Utah, won the men’s U20 vertical race in a time of 21 minutes, 22.6 seconds. 

Two Summit High School students competed in the U18 vertical races. Sophomore Jay McDonald finished 14th in the men’s vertical race and was the third American overall. McDonald was beaten out by Benjamin Bigwood (11th) and Landon Jakob (12th). 

In the U18 women’s vertical race, sophomore Ashley Adkins took ninth overall. The finish was enough for Adkins to be the second American in the race, with Helen Desmond securing the top spot in sixth place.

On Thursday, March 6, the focus turned to the sprint race. Knowing that the event will be featured at the Olympics, the Americans attempted to finish as high as they could in the stacked international field. 

Frisco’s Arthur Whitehead was the second American in the men’s field, taking 35th overall. Whitehead was preceded by Ian Clarke, who took 28th overall. Breckenridge’s Brooke Haynes was the top American in the women’s sprint race. Haynes finished in 37th place with the next American, Gwen Rudy, finishing in 56th.

Staberg took 66th in the women’s sprint race and 20th among U23 athletes. With one World Championship title already to his name, Park City’s Briley managed to secure a second, winning the men’s U20 sprint race in a time of 3:22.4.

Briley would end up winning his third race of the event on Friday, March 7, in the men’s U20 individual race. He won the race by 23 seconds in a time of 1:32.21.3.

Burke returned to the start line for the U23 individual race where he was able to take 23rd overall and 61st in the men’s field. Staberg also lined up for the individual race, but did not finish.

Summit High School junior Finn Brown rounded out the competition for the group of Summit athletes. Brown took 23rd in the U18 men’s individual race and was the fifth American to cross the line. Jakob notched the highest finish among the Americans by taking ninth, while Bigwood took 11th and Sam Kirschner finished in 16th. Joshua Itoi finished a few spots in front of Brown in 20th.

Prior to the vertical race on Tuesday, athletes competed in the mixed relay on Monday, March 3. The Americans were represented by Jessie Young and Cameron Smith in the senior race and by McCall Birkinshaw and Griffin Briley in the youth race. Young and Smith took 12th in the senior race while Birkinshaw and Briley won the bronze medal in the youth race. 

The World Championships concluded on Saturday, March 8, with the team race. Smith teamed up with David Sinclair to take 10th overall in the men’s team race. Joseph Demoor and Jacob Dewey followed in 16th overall. 

In the women’s team race, Kelly Wolf and Sarah Burke took ninth overall out of 11 teams.