Iain Innes had no equipment minutes before his first ski mountaineering (Skimo) race, but has since become one of Britain’s leading competitors.
Scotsman Innes had originally gone to watch the event rather than compete, and having taken the last-minute leap he had to borrowing equipment from fellow Brit Hector Haines, who managed Sweden’s team.
Skimo includes various race formats, from short sprints to long-distance routes and will debut in the Winter Olympics 2026.
Innes said: “I fell into it, but it wasn’t a controlled fall.
“It was like I jumped into it and went all the way.
“I found myself on the morning of the European Championships having never raced before, with a pair of ski boots I’ve never worn, and a pair of skis I’ve never used.”
The basic concept of skimo is to race up and down mountainous terrain through skiing and climbing and requires specialised equipment which has to be efficient and as lightweight as possible.
As for his own entry into the sport, Innes questioned his reason for being there but made the decision he would continue with it if he did not finish last.
He went on to finish respectably, including beating some of the Swedes from which he borrowed the equipment from, and progressed to compete in World Cups that year.
Innes said: “The first few races, I didn’t really know anyone else outside of the Brits – and by the end of the season I’d got friends from all over the world.
“For me, that’s one of my favourite parts about it all.”
Innes has competed all over Europe this year, including finishing 20th in the highly demanding XXIV Trofeo Mezzalama which covers 40km at high altitude.
Innes lives in his van full-time, basing himself in Chamonix, in the valley of Mont Blanc, France.
The area is known for its mountaineering heritage and offers some of the best conditions for skimo.
Indeed, in nearby in Beaufortain, the pinnacle of the skimo calendar takes place in the form of the Pierra Menta.
Innes finished 52nd in this year’s event with French team-mate Rémi Bourdelle.
Funding has always been an issue for winter athletes, but living in his Mercedes Sprinter which has over 200,000 miles on the clock allows Innes to travel wherever the conditions are good.
He said: “I do a lot of ski mountaineering in winter but I also do a lot of climbing, mountaineering, paragliding so that kind of dictates where I go.
“All of this only works because I live in the van, so my living costs are tiny.
“If I wanted even the most basic of accommodation, then the money I get just wouldn’t even come close.
“That’s my biggest sacrifice.”
While other athletes arrived with full support teams, fresh from training and rest, Innes would turn up fatigued from a full-time job as a ski coach, with no support team, representing himself.
He said: “I don’t take it lightly how lucky I am now that I don’t really have to work, particularly through winter, and how big of a difference that makes, just being able to train full-time but also resting.”
Skimo at the Winter Games in Milan-Cortina will be a streamlined version of the sport, with the events to be run on-piste on man-made courses.
With the sport traditionally taking place on natural mountainscapes, Innes fears that the traditional essence of the sport will be lost at the Games.
More positively, however, he believes that the inclusion of skimo on the Olympic agenda will see an increase in funding and more exposure to the sport.
He said: “I think a real ski mountaineer wants to do the real ski mountaineering disciplines and everyone’s just a little bit nervous that they’re getting pushed to one side.
“It’s really increased the professionalism of all the teams because suddenly there’s Olympic medals on the line and there’s potential funding.
“There’s definitely a kind of new school style of mountaineering that’s being pushed onto the athletes, probably from the Olympic movement.”
Britain is not likely to qualify for Skimo in 2026, but Innes remains optimistic for the next Winter Games.
Skimo is on the provisional list for 2030 in the French Alps and hopes are high that it – and perhaps Innes – will make it to that stage.
Featured image credit: ISMF / Toño Miranda
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