The skimo races at this year’s Olympics—a sprint and a two-person mixed-gender relay—involve several distinct phases. There are ascents on skis with skins, typically made from mohair and nylon, which are attached underneath for traction. During the aptly named “foot part” of a race, athletes fasten the skis to their backpacks and continue the trek uphill, naturally, on foot. And in the downhill portion, skins are shed from underneath before athletes make a tricky descent on skis. A skimo sprint runs around three minutes, while the relay lasts about a half hour to an hour.

The skiing and mountaineering elements demand supreme fitness, of course, but races are often won and lost in the various transitions, when competitors swiftly shift from skis to feet, then feet to skis, before ripping off the skins and skiing downhill. World-class skimo athletes are able to complete these tasks with Bond-like efficiency, bringing a technical wrinkle to an already grueling sport. “Imagine sprinting across three football fields, but up one-and-a-half times the height of Niagara Falls, and along the way, while you are redlining, you’re going to have to do three little challenges,” says Max Valverde, NBC’s skimo commentator at the Olympics.

The sport is also distinguished by its featherlight equipment, with boots weighing about a pound and skis clocking in at less than two. That helps as the athletes fight gravity going uphill, but it also makes for an unwieldy descent. “It’s like skiing in slippers pinned to matchsticks by a couple of clothes-pegs,” says Friend. Valverde prefers an analogy more in keeping with the Italian hosts: “It’s like skiing down on uncooked pasta.”

Hair and makeup, Kendra Lauren. For details, go to vf.com/credits.