Anna Gibson is Jackson Hole’s newest Olympian, but not in the sport she envisioned.
Until last summer, running was top-of-mind for the decorated University of Washington track team alum.
That’s when the Teton County-born-and-raised athlete was convinced to add one more sport to her repertoire.
At the upcoming Games in Italy, Gibson won’t be the only one making an Olympic debut. The sport of ski mountaineering, or skimo, will too.
Three events, in the Italian Alps town of Bormio, involve several heats of marching uphill in tight zig-zags or by bootpack, then clicking into skis to race back down around gates. There’s the individual single-lap sprints for both men and women, plus a mixed-relay, or a co-ed race in pairs.
Last summer, Crested Butte athlete Cam Smith convinced Gibson to swap out her trail runners for ultralight skimo skis for the December World Cup stop in Solitude, Utah.
That wasn’t just any race — the stakes were high. Gibson and Smith had to beat Canada in the mixed-relay to secure Team USA’s spot at the upcoming Olympics.
When Smith first reached out to Gibson, competing in the sport wasn’t on her radar anytime soon, with her priorities still on running. But she had a hunch it could be in store.
“Skimo has been something I knew I would do for a very long time,” Gibson said. “I remember being four years old and watching my parents race at the Randonee Rally at [Teton] Village.”
Though she grew up ski racing at Snow King Mountain, backcountry skiing on Teton Pass and nordic skiing throughout high school, her successful running career kept the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort athlete away from combining all her sports for the ultimate ski test.
In 2024, Gibson made it to the 1,500 meter track semifinals in the U.S. Olympic trials. Last September, she ran to a bronze medal at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain.
With results like these, she’s been called a “one-in-a-million runner.” It’s also why Smith paid little mind to what she lacked in skimo experience, a sport the veteran athlete has steadily helped grow over the last decade.
In Solitude last December, that gamble proved successful.
The duo surprised not just themselves but the whole ski world by winning the mixed-relay event together. By the time Smith crossed the finish line, Gibson was already in tears.
“It’s hard to explain just how amazing and absurd it was to see the U.S. win a mixed-relay,” said Nikki LaRochelle, former Team USA skimo athlete who will commentate the events in Bormio.
“Last season, the U.S. and Canada had been very tight all along. When Anna Gibson was introduced into the picture, it really shook things up.”
Tenth place would’ve been a decent finish given the team’s track record, LaRochelle said. Instead, she said, they did the “unprecedented.”
The win secured Gibson’s spot in the Olympics, where she’ll join other athletes from the Tetons: mogul skier Jaelin Kauf, of Alta, and alpine racer Breezy Johnson of Victor, Idaho. All three are medal contenders.
“It just hit me all in that one moment,” Gibson said. “[I was] feeling very overwhelmed and super excited. It still feels pretty surreal.”
Swapping out powder planks for skinny skins has come with its own learning curve, however. Gibson had to learn the many rules to skimo in just a few months, such as which baselayer to wear at which event or how to properly pack the fabric skins in one of many time-crunched “transitions.” Violations can add seconds to a skier’s time.
“It’s a lot to jump straight into the highest level of something,” Gibson said, “[knowing] that the expectations of you are quite high to make sure that you’re doing a good job.”
On Feb. 19 and 21, Gibson and Smith will race in the individual sprints and, once more, the mixed-relay.
Despite being relatively new to the competitive side of the sport, Gibson has already proven herself a skier to watch out for. Beyond bringing back a medal, she hopes to inspire a revival of competitive ski mountaineering in the Tetons.
Gibson said she’s heard murmurs about starting a youth program or a local race circuit.
“I want in on that conversation in March when I get back,” Gibson said.
