GoPro Mountain Games adds 2 new events to 2025 lineup
The Kayak Cross and Speed Camp will make their debuts alongside the previously announced Vail Ultra and Speed Showdown
GoPro Mountain Games/Courtesy photo
Two more new events have been added to the 2025 GoPro Mountain Games slate.
The Vail Valley Foundation announced in a March 27 press release that the Kayak Cross will replace the 8-ball kayak sprint and the YETI Speed Camp will join its growing list of climbing competitions. Those events will join the Vail Ultra trail run and YETI Speed Showdown in making their Mountain Games debuts this summer in Vail.
The Kayak Cross is being dubbed as a “whitewater battle royale sprint to the finish” on the Mountain Games website. The head-to-head slalom will take place on Gore Creek between the Covered Bridge and International Bridge on Sunday, June 8. The course will consist of three to four downstream gates and a two pairs of upstream gates where possible. There will also be a marked roll zone or an alternative, depending on water level, for a required full 360-degree roll.
The Speed Camp will take place on Thursday at the speed wall located at The Hangout in Golden Peak. Each of the two 45-minute clinics will give climbers an opportunity to learn from some of the best speed climbers at the Mountain Games. Minimum age to participate is 12; athletes should have some prior speed climbing experience and can sign up for both sessions if they choose.
“We are always looking for ways to enhance the experience for our competitors and spectators, and these new events do exactly that,” Peggy Wolfe, senior director of operations for the Vail Valley Foundation, stated in the press release. “The kayak competition will give whitewater athletes another thrilling race platform, while the YETI Speed Camp will offer climbing enthusiasts an exclusive opportunity to learn from the best.”
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The Gore IV Kayak Challenge, Down River Kayak Sprint, and Kayak Freestyle events remain on the Mountain Games schedule. Meanwhile, fans can enjoy eight different climbing opportunities — including a North American Cup Series bouldering competition.
Both kayak cross and speed climbing are relatively new Olympic sports. Speed climbing made its debut as part of the men’s and women’s combined competition in Tokyo in 2021 and kayak cross burst onto the scene in Paris last summer. The YETI Speed Showdown on June 8 will pit climbers side-by-side in a head-to-head race up the 15-meter wall on the standardized route seen at the Olympics. The event features a $5,000 prize purse.
“Speed climbing is gaining tremendous momentum in the outdoor sports world, and we’re excited to be celebrating this incredible discipline,” Wolfe stated.
The Vail Ultra, a 50-mile run blending Vail Mountain’s early-season singletrack trail and Forest Service Roads with the tough, asphalt climb up Vail Pass, starts and ends at Golden Peak. All proceeds will go to 50 For the Fallen, a nonprofit organization “formed in response to the worsening mental health crisis experienced throughout the Department of Defense.”
Registration is open for the Mountain Games at MountainGames.com/register. Athletes can test themselves at more than 35 events across 11 disciplines, competing for over $150,000 in total prize money.
