Ski mountaineering enters the Winter Olympic spotlight

• "Colorado and Utah are really the hotbeds," says Ram Mikulas, the U.S. Ski Mountaineering Association president, who lives in Summit County.
• The next sanctioned race in the U.S. is April 3 at Breckenridge Ski Resort.

State of play: The niche sport is increasing in popularity with explosive growth in backcountry skiing in recent years.

How it works: In skimo, competitors ascend the mountain with skins on the bottom of their skis for grip. They take them off to zip down, and repeat, completing multiple routes.