Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the free trail podcast. Thanks so much for being here. Of course, I'm your host, Dylan Bowman,

and I'm super excited to introduce you to our guests today. I suspect that Cam Smith's name

might be an unfamiliar one to most of you listeners of the show, but this kid is the real deal.

And if all things progress, as they have been to this point in his career, he may eventually

be an Olympian one day.

That's right.

It could be that four years from right now, we are all sitting on our couches, screaming

at our televisions, cheering this kid on as he competes as a ski mountaineer, which is going to be debuting in the 2026

games. But for those of you who have been around the sport of trail running for some time,

and especially those who follow the European side of the sport, you will know that ski

mountaineering is a complementary winter activity that many of the best trail runners

in the world focus on in the colder months of the year. Ski mountaineering as a sport has been

experiencing massive growth, explosive growth in North America, much like trail running,

both on a competitive and a recreational level.

And our guest today, Mr. Cam Smith, is at the forefront of a new generation of American

ski mountaineering athletes making their mark on the sport, on the international level.

In fact, a few weeks ago in January, Cam became the first American to ever podium in a

World Cup. Seniors ski mountaineering race, taking home a proud third place finish in a vertical

race in Andorra. The winner of the race was none other than Mr. Remy Bonnet, the Swiss ski

mountaineering and trail running champion

you're probably familiar with and who you probably follow on Instagram. Again, these two

sports are so complimentary. And speaking of which, Cam Smith is not just a great ski mountaineer.

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