VIDEO: Skyracing in Squaw Valley

This June, Skyrunning came to Squaw Valley, the California ski resort known to the public at large as host of the 1960 Winter Olympics and to ultrarunners as the start of the Western States 100.

The inaugural Broken Arrow Skyrace included 52K, 26K and Vertical K distances, and attracted some top mountain-running talent. The event took its cue from Euro-style Skyrunning, which race promoter Ethan Veneklasen, in this video by Jon Rockwood, describes as “the intersection between mountaineering and trail running.”

That means massive amounts of vert and technical terrain, including roped-up climbs and glissades down snowfields. As Veneklasen puts it, “This isn’t your local run-around-some-regional-park sort of race.” Not that he really has to say it; this race footage speaks for itself.