Born and raised at the foot of snowcapped mountains in the remote Xizang autonomous region, the natural bond Cidan Yuzhen has with the rugged terrain has helped take her to the peak of her sport on the international stage.

The shepherd's daughter is joined by Yuzhen Lamu and Buluer in the cohort of Chinese athletes from ethnic minority groups now conquering ski mountaineering.

The endurance sport will make its highly-anticipated debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Once included in the 1924 Games as a component of the military patrol event, ski mountaineering, or skimo, will be featured as a medal event in its own right at the 2026 Games to be held in the Italian Alps across Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The elevation of ski mountaineering to the Olympics has triggered interest and greater participation in it across the world, including China. A sport with a long history, ski mountaineering combines climbing and descending and traversing alpine terrains.

Athletes from mountain villages in Xizang and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region grew up adapting to thin air and high altitudes, and boast physical advantages in aerobic endurance. However, most of them had no idea what skimo was until talent identification scouts came knocking at their doors in November 2017.