SKIMO'S OLYMPIC HOPEFUL

Name: Wren Pyle Age: 21

Family: Parents, Dave Pyle and Michelle Martin; Boots, the cat.

Lives in: Burlington

Profession: Senior at University of Vermont

Main Sport: Skimo

By the age of 12, Wren Pyle was a nationally ranked swimmer. In high school, Pyle began running ultra-marathons and trail events. But she had never heard of ski mountaineering races, known now as “skimo,” until college. In 2021, the University of Vermont student won the national U23 women’s sprint skimo race and was named to the U.S. National Skimo Team. Now, she hopes to represent the United States in the sport’s debut event at the 2026 Olympics.

Skimo races involve bootpacking and skinning up a mountain course across a variety terrain and then skiing down. Sprint races have an ascent/descent of roughly 100 meters. An individual race typically has a minimum of three ascents and descents for men and women, and two for juniors. The longest ascent accounts for less than 50% of the total elevation gain with a minimum elevation gain of 1,300 meters (4,500 feet). Race times vary depending on the event, but top racers usually complete the event in 1.5-2 hours,). The individual race also includes at least one section on-foot (skis on pack).

How did you learn about and start racing skimo?

I really hadn’t done much skiing at all. We lived in Germany when I was very young so there are pictures of me skiing in Austria. Between the ages of two and 18, I probably only skied ten times. Part of it was that my swim coach was adamant about not getting hurt during the season. When I stopped swimming competitively five years ago, I got into ultra-distance running and trail running.

After I graduated South County High School in Virginia, I did a 40-mile race in Colorado's San Juan mountains. I did okay but the European woman who won just dominated—she actually won the race by hours. I looked her up and learned that she did skimo. Then I started looking up some of the other European ultra runners and discovered that they also did skimo either for training or racing purposes.

In Vermont, you can’t run in the mountains in the winter the way I could when I lived in Virginia, so when I got to UVM, I took the money I’d made over the summer and purchased some skimo equipment. Jonathan Shefftz who is the director of the NE Rando Race Series invited me to his race at Bromley, gave me a student discount, and even got a ride for me because I didn’t have a car. I went and had a good time and he invited me for the next one. Each time I progressed, he had me look into doing more. I taught myself to ski entirely from watching YouTube videos and World Cup races, and practicing at Jay Peak. That mountain is very friendly to uphill skiers and has good snow.

Congratulations on making the U.S. National Skimo Team. Last season, I got the opportunity to ski for the US National Team as a U23 member and I hope I can qualify again. I won the National Championship U23 Women’s Sprint title in Vail, Colorado in February, 2022, and got to wear the Stars and Stripes —that’s a dream I’ve had ever since I was a young swimmer. Getting to wear your country’s colors is a great honor and responsibility. I’m a bit limited right now because I’m still in school so I’ll only compete in the northeast until I head to Nationals in Utah in March. I hope that after two years of competing in the U.S., I’ll be fit and fast enough for the World Cup circuit next winter.

What was it like to win the women’s U23 sprint title in Vail last February?

It was the first true sprint race opportunity I’d gotten, and I got to race against a lot of the senior women. I didn’t qualify for the overall finals, but I did make it to the semi-finals. It reminded me of my swim days because as a swimmer you race five or six times a day and when you do sprint races, you also race multiple times in one day. I’m hoping that this year I can be the top U23 racer again and maybe make the top six and the finals.

As an endurance athlete, what do you like about sprint races?

I’ve done 12-hour running races and as much as I like endurance sports, this takes me back to being a swimmer. I like the skimo transitions. I find it more rewarding to chase a perfect fourminute effort and I also really enjoy that kind of training. I enjoy being in the gym and doing the short-distance, high intensity work. What I like about skimo in general is that it’s a bit like a triathlon. You have three different disciplines: skinning, bootpacking, and skiing. That’s fun and challenging. You can’t rely on any one to be successful. You need to be proficient at all three.

You transitioned in 2019 and have met the IOC guidelines (maintaining testosterone levels of below 10n/mol for at least 12 months) but as a trans woman do you foresee any challenges in your bid for an Olympic spot?

I’m preparing as though there aren’t. The IOC has guiding principles about inclusion and fairness, but they’ve said they’ll allow each individual federation to set their own rules. USA Skimo has been very positive, and I’ve been able to compete for my own country. I don’t know what the policy will be in 2026 but I’m hopeful I can compete and recognize that it’s out of my control. Sitting at home and thinking about it doesn’t do much good, but I’ve received nothing but support from my family, friends, and the women of skimo.

Why did you choose UVM?

I wanted a school that didn’t have a football team. I came from a high school with a really good football program, and I wanted to get away from that. I also wanted a school with around 10,000 students and I loved Burlington’s proximity to the mountains. When I lived in northern Virginia, the closest mountains were two hours away and the idea of 4,000foot mountains half an hour away was intriguing. I also loved the inclusivity of Burlington, and UVM felt like a very welcoming place. In Vermont it seems like neighbors know each other and look after each other and in rural areas they don’t lock their cars and they bring each other food. It felt like a place I could have as a home, not just a place to go to school.

You haven’t left your swim career entirely behind, right?

Although I stopped swimming competitively five years ago, I haven’t missed a season in the pool. I’ve been a coach in some capacity all those years. First, I was an assistant coach at the Y with their high school program and this past summer I was the head coach for the Winooski summer swim program. This season, I’m an assistant coach at UVM. I still love swimming and think it’s a great sport and I have a lot of passion and knowledge from my training as a swimmer.

I’m getting my degree in exercise science and physiology, and I think swimming has lagged behind some other sports in using literature and science. This year, the UVM squad had one of our most successful early season meets ever. We have a lot of swimmers making great progress. There’s a lot of art to coaching but a bit more science might produce a stronger athlete.

Are you doing other sports, as well? I run and bike but just for training purposes. I was actually a fan of ultra running before I ever tried it thanks to a documentary about the Badwater Ultra. I thought the sport looked amazing. It was the only other individual sport I knew about. I’m a decent runner but I will never be a competitive one and I’ve come to enjoy running as a way to train.

I love cycling but I didn’t grow up bike racing and it’s not something you can just jump into. I like being able to leave my house and go for a six-hour training ride without having to use my car and I’ve posted some decent times on Strava. I was mostly a road cyclist, but I recently got into gravel riding. I might race if I have the opportunity but if I never put on a bib, I’d still be happy. I recently did an Everest [cycling the equivalent of the height of Mt. Everest] to raise money for the Trevor Project, an organization that supports LGTBQ youth in crisis.

What Vermont events have you done?

The past three years I’ve raced on the NE Rando Race skimo circuit. That’s what I look forward to every year and what got me started. Even though I’ve reached the point where I can go to national races, I always want to go back to Bromley which was my first race.

I’m also still trail running and bike riding. I’ve done some trail runs including a 25K with the Richmond trail running group and The Moose which is a 100-mile bike race/ride in the Northeast Kingdom. I’ve done the Shelburne Half Marathon and the GMAC Turkey Trot.

I don’t prioritize racing out of season very much, though. I spend the summer base training, so I end up doing things like endurance charity events. In the off season I like to reconnect with friends and get away from the pressures of racing. When I was running ultra races, I would take the winters off but now I skimo race from December through April and five months of competing is a pretty long time.

Will you stay in Vermont after graduation?

I would if I had an opportunity. At this point, I plan on going back to Colorado where my parents and my coach live. I was a military kid. My dad was in the army for 30 years and we moved around a lot including the Washington D.C. area, but we moved back to Colorado after I graduated high school so it’s the place that feels the most like home. Right now, the thing most important for me is racing and I’m willing to go wherever I can to do that.

What do you think you’ll do when you’re done competing? When I’m done racing, I want to go back to school. I’m intrigued by high altitude acclimatization. Hopefully, ten or 15 years from now I can move away from chasing medals to climbing bigger mountains like Denali and the Himalayas. The science part of my brain is interested in better protocols for acclimatizing. Some research can be done to better understand how to make it more consistent. I’d also like to stay involved in swimming, possibly as a head coach somewhere.

Is there anything else you want to tell us?

As much as I enjoy racing at a high level and competing for prize money and titles, the most important thing for me is showing kids that no matter what situation you’re in and no matter how you are marginalized, there is a place for you outdoors. People should be able to get out and enjoy these beautiful places. You don’t need to be a rich skier from France to do a sport like skimo. A trans girl from Vermont can compete in a national event but there are many different paths. You can compete at the highest level or just go out and have fun with your family. I hope folks who see people like me competing see there is space for everyone.

—Phyl Newbeck