Lara Hamilton: Finding her line on the mountain as SkiMo eyes its Olympic Debut

As Ski Mountaineering (SkiMo) prepares to make its Olympic debut at Milano-Cortina 2026, a new wave of Australian athletes are positioning themselves on the international stage, chasing qualification in one of winter sport’s fastest-growing disciplines. 

Among them is Lara Hamilton, a trail runner, Nordic skier and SkiMo athlete whose journey to the World Cup circuit has been anything but traditional.

Raised in a family deeply connected to the snow, Hamilton’s introduction to skiing began almost as soon as she could walk. With a father who competed as a World Cup Nordic skier in the late 1970s and early 80s, weekends were spent commuting long hours to Perisher, a familiar story for many Australian ski families.

“I grew up in Milo Kids, Nordic skiing as soon as I could walk, and doing interschools through to Year 10,” Hamilton said. 

“I did a bit of everything, alpine and Nordic, but eventually focused more on the cross-country side.”

That Nordic background quietly laid the foundations for what would become her pathway into SkiMo. While traditional Australian snowsport pathways often follow well-defined disciplines, Hamilton’s curiosity drew her beyond groomed trails. 

Through Nordic Ski Australia, she began exploring backcountry skiing, initially on heavy frame bindings, moving slowly and deliberately uphill.

“It was really slow compared to what I do now,” she said. 

“But I loved that it wasn’t confined to groomed trails. I could explore, and that opened my mind to what was possible.”

As her interest deepened, Hamilton completed avalanche safety and rescue courses, gaining confidence in complex alpine terrain. But it wasn’t until she moved to Colorado after college that Ski Mountaineering truly came into focus.

“I arrived in Colorado and saw people absolutely flying uphill,” she said. 

“I remember thinking, ‘what is this sport?’”

Immersed in the mountain culture of the American West, Hamilton joined a women’s training group that met weekly. With little formal instruction, she learned SkiMo the hard way, by racing.

“I started entering races with no idea what I was doing,” she said. 

“A lot of learning happened in race environments, which can be a bit sketchy, but that’s part of the sport. 

“You learn how to ski down technical terrain on tiny skis that feel like they could snap at any moment.”

While her father was an early influence on her skiing, Hamilton credits the wider mountain community in Colorado with shaping her SkiMo development. Mentors with deep experience helped her navigate both performance and safety in high-consequence terrain.

“Having people who know more than you, who’ve been in the mountains for years, makes such a difference,” she said. 

“When you’re not stressed about avalanche risk or route choice, you have space to actually play, improve technique and push yourself.”

That sense of freedom is what sets SkiMo apart for Hamilton, not just as a sport, but as an experience in the mountains.

“I just love skiing, all of it,” she said. 

“You work for every lap. When you climb, you learn the slope you’re about to ski, you’re visualising it the whole way up. Then you rip the skins, and it’s just full gas. It’s exhilarating.”

“It’s also empowering. I can go anywhere, and seeing the women’s field grow is so cool, it’s that feeling of, ‘I’m a girl, I can do this too.’”

Hamilton’s steady progression was on display earlier this season at the SkiMo World Cup in Solitude, USA, where she recorded a career-best 31st place, missing the top 30 by less than a tenth of a second.

For Hamilton, the result confirmed that her development curve continues to trend upward.

“I only got a SkiMo coach two months ago,” she said. 

“Someone on the team crunched the numbers and worked out it was about a 10 per cent improvement. 

“That was really exciting, because it showed there’s a lot more to come.

“I still feel like I’m on that big upward curve and I just want to keep getting better, this season, next season, and beyond.”

As SkiMo continues to evolve globally, Hamilton is energised by being part of a discipline that is still defining itself.

“It’s young, and people are experimenting and pushing limits,” she said. 

“There are so many possibilities, even things like riding boxes on SkiMo skis. Who knows where it could go as equipment improves?”

That sense of growth is also beginning to take hold at home. Domestic events such as the Falls Creek SkiMo Challenge and Perisher SkiMo races have helped introduce the discipline to Australian audiences and build awareness within the snowsport community.

“Even people just seeing it from the chairlift might get curious,” Hamilton said. 

“Then they see it again at the Olympics and think, ‘I’ve seen this before, what is it?’ That’s how sports grow.”

With Olympic qualification on the horizon, being in contention for a place at Milano-Cortina 2026 would represent years of self-directed training, time away from family, and countless solo hours in the mountains.

“It would be affirmation that all the hard work was worth it,” she said. 

“When you set an ‘A goal’ like the Olympics, you don’t always get there.

“To even be in the position to chase it feels really special, and if it does happen, it inspires you to set the next big goal.”

As SkiMo continues to grow in Australia, Hamilton hopes more athletes and mountain enthusiasts will feel encouraged to give the sport a try.

“You don’t have to be fast or have perfect gear,” she said. 

“If you like moving in nature, just start. It’s like hiking on snow, exploratory, social, and it brings back that sense of curiosity you had as a kid.”

With Ski Mountaineering heading toward the world’s biggest stage and athletes like Lara Hamilton pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, Australia’s presence in the discipline continues to build, one climb at a time.