International Ski Mountaineering Federation

The first World Championship of Ski Mountaineering was staged in 2002, in Serre Chevalier, France, by then sanctioned by the International Council for Ski Mountaineering Competitions (ISMC).

The International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), founded in 2007 and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the successor of the ISMC and the current global governing body for ski mountaineering.

Recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2016 and a member of the Association of the IOC-recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF), the ISMF represents 55 national federations as of January 2026, and its current president is Switzerland’s Regula Meier.

The sport featured in the programme of the 2020 Youth Winter Olympic Games, with boys’, girls’ and mixed events. On 20 July 2021, the IOC unanimously approved to add ski mountaineering to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, with sprint events for men and women, and a mixed relay.