# Development of Equipment for Ski Mountaineering, a New Olympic Event
###### Abstract  
Ski mountaineering, a new Olympic winter sport involving both climbing and descending snowy slopes, requires considerable physical and technical abilities, as well as highly specialized equipment. Herein, we briefly describe this equipment and its influence on performance and consider potential future advances. Ski's, boots, and bindings must be light enough to facilitate climbing uphill (in which as much as 85% of the total racing time is spent) and, at the same time, provide stability and safety in often-challenging descents. A skier must be able to easily and rapidly attach and remove the adhesive skins under the skis that provide grip while skiing uphill. Poles and their baskets must be designed optimally to transfer propulsive force and help maintain balance. Despite the popularity of ski mountaineering, research on this sport is scarce, and we indicate a number of areas wherein improvements in equipment could potentially advance both performance and safety. Such advances must be based on a better understanding of the biomechanics of ski mountaineering, which could be obtained with novel sensor technology and can be best achieved via more extensive collaboration between researchers, skiers and their coaches, and manufacturers of ski mountaineering equipment. performance; ski touring; skiing; skiMo; racing; skis; poles; skins; innovation +
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sufficiently stiff to provide control and safety on downhill terrain, where the snow is often ungroomed/unprepared. In preparation for uphill climbs, removable adhesive skins designed to prevent sliding backward are attached to the bottom of the skis, and the boots are allowed to pivot freely around the anterior binding, thereby promoting a more natural gait. To reduce friction and allow greater speed during descents, the skier removes these skins and, in addition, locks in the posterior bindings and cuffs of the ski boots for better control. During races, there are special transition areas where these changes are made as rapidly as possible between an ascent and descent or, in some cases, between skiing and running/walking uphill. [PERSON] (1980) [3] described skiing as \"a relationship between man, equipment and environment and all these factors should be adapted to each other to obtain an optimal result\". In recent decades, revolutionary advances in SkiMo equipment have strived not only to enhance racing performance [4; 5], but also to reduce the risk of injury [6; 7]. In elite competitions, where a few seconds can separate victory from defeat, the optimal choice of equipment, both with respect to performance and rapid transition, is crucial. Clearly, understanding the interaction between an athlete and his/her equipment is imperative for allowing the skier to achieve his/her full potential. At the same time, to ensure both safety and fair play, all equipment that is used must comply with specific rules imposed by the Federation. In connection with the development of equipment for different individual sports, biomechanical research can help identify variables that influence both performance and the risk of injury (e.g., skiing technique uphill and downhill, step length and frequency, and choice of trajectory on a particular slope under prevailing snow conditions) [8]. However, few scientific studies have examined the biomechanical parameters associated with SkiMo [9; 10] and even fewer have been performed in collaboration with manufacturers of SkiMo equipment. The aim of the present perspective is to describe and discuss the major improvements in equipment and in our understanding of the biomechanics of competitive ski mountaineering in recent decades, as well as to consider potential future developments. In light of the limited extent to which scientific research has focused on the development of SkiMo equipment, we attempted to bridge this gap in knowledge both by sharing our own experience and knowledge in this area and by seeking the insights of leading experts in the field.