BORMIO, Italy (AP) — They skied uphill through a diamond-shaped pattern and climbed a flight of on-slope stairs in their ski boots. Far from done, they endured more lung-searing climbing, with skis back on,

The Winter Olympic debut of ski mountaineering meets a frosty conclusion as Americans Cam Smith and Anna Gibson take on a field of the best mixed relay racers in the world.

By Martyn Herman BORMIO, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Oriol Cardona Coll won Spain's first Winter Olympics gold medal for 54 years as he claimed victory in the men's sprint in the inaugural ski mountaineering event on Thursday.

Now, to be fair, the version of skimo we saw in the Olympics—skimo sprint—is a bastardized version of the sport. Skimo events can last for hours, involve traversing entire mountains, and test the limits of an athlete’s endurance—not just their skill at stripping and stowing their gear. Look at this clip from a skimo World Cup race:

BORMIO, Italy (AP) — The steepest hill ski mountaineering athlete Ana Alonso Rodriguez had to climb on her way to an Olympic bronze medal involved no course at all. No snow or competitors, either. Just trusting in herself,

Switzerland's Marianne Fatton clinched the first ski mountaineering gold medal in Olympics history Thursday, winning by 2.38 seconds in Bormio, Italy.