Ski mountaineering will keep its place in the Olympic programme for the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made the decision on Thursday at its session in Lausanne, with the disciplines to be decided at a later stage.
Ski Mountaineering made its Olympic debut at this year's Milan/Cortina Games with three events, sprints for men and women and a mixed relay.
"We recognised the sport's potential to add meaningful value to the programme, supported by its strong presence in Alpine regions, and its ability to enhance diversity, authenticity and appeal, while building on its growing Olympic momentum," Olympic programme working group chairman Karl Stoss said.
The sport has its origin in backcountry or off-piste skiing. Athletes first climb a hill course with special skins under their skis. A steps section follows where they have the skis on their backs. They then ski back down the hill.
The course is covered once in the sprint but it is proposed to add the individual event, where athletes must undertake all three parts of the course several times, in 2030 for five medal events.
The full 2030 programme is to be decided later this year.
While ski mountaineering stays, others like Nordic combined skiing and snowboard's parallel giant slalom may be axed.
