Snowbound success: Yudron Lhamo's journey to the top

Tibetan athlete Yudron Lhamo emerges as China's ski mountaineering sensation, claiming historic victories on international stages. Her journey, from remote peaks to triumph, reflects grit, skill, and an unyielding spirit.

Tibetan athlete Yudron Lhamo, 20, has won multiple medals at ski mountaineering competitions, and she considers all these successes as the beginning process of building confidence in herself.

Living in places surrounded by snowcapped mountains and glaciers, Tibetans seem to have a closer, more natural relationship with snow and ice, demonstrating their special talents in ice and snow-related sports.

In recent years, the Chinese National Mountaineering and Skiing Team has selected an increasing number of young athletes from the Xizang autonomous region, training them to compete in various ski mountaineering games.

An official ski team was established in the region in 2018 to support China's national strategy of encouraging 300 million people to participate in winter sports — a government commitment to the all-around development of ice and snow sports.

Approximately 10 young athletes from the region serve as ski mountaineers for the Chinese National Mountaineering and Skiing Team, accounting for roughly half of the total athletes, according to Nyima Tsering, head of the regional sports bureau.

Yudron Lhamo is one of the outstanding athletes from the region who has been gaining glory for China in international ski mountaineering games in recent years.

Yudron Lhamo is from a remote township of the Konpo Gyada county in the region's Nyingchi city. She currently serves as an athlete of ski mountaineering for the national team.

At the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) World Championships in Spain on Feb 28 last year, Yudron Lhamo dominated the U20 women's sprint category with straight wins in the qualification, semifinal, and final rounds, becoming the first Chinese ski mountaineering world champion.

During the 2023/24 ISMF Youth World Cup Ski Mountaineering season competitions held in Meribel, France, in early December, several athletes from Xizang won multiple medals, with Yudron Lhamo being one of the winners.

During the two-day competition in Meribel, more than 100 athletes from 12 countries, including China, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Spain attended the event, and three athletes from Xizang won three gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze. Yudron Lhamo claimed gold in the U20 Women's Sprint and silver in the U20 Women's Individual competition.

"In the past, I often saw other athletes on television winning Olympic championships and raising the five-star red flag on foreign sports arenas," said Yudron Lhamo. She realized this dream herself when she stood on the award podium, and felt particularly excited and incredibly proud, she said.

In 2019, Yudron Lhamo was selected from the medium and long-distance running team of the regional sports school to join the region's skiing team, officially becoming a skiing athlete.

The transformation from zero experience to a skier was accompanied by unimaginable hardships. After years of training, the numerous bruises and scars on her body bear witness to her dedication.

"After winning this championship in December, I feel very happy, and I would like to express my gratitude to my family and coaches who have always supported and encouraged me all the way," she said.

"Everything went relatively smoothly during the competition, and I didn't encounter any major difficulties," she added, mentioning that her coaches and family members often describe her as overly competitive and ambitious.

"I personally believe that what I have gained so far cannot be described as success; it can only be described as a good result," she said. "If you ask me how much effort has been put into this achievement, my answer would be hard work day after day, year after year, to persist with determination."

According to Yudron Lhamo, her regular training is divided into two types: summer training and winter training. During summer training, she usually does not have a fixed training location, and her training would be in places like Beijing, Nyingchi, Heilongjiang, and others.

Winter training places usually include colder regions such as Jilin province, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Italy.

"During summer training, our main focus is on aerobic exercises like running, strength training, and roller skiing, which are aimed at improving our physical fitness," she said, adding that winter training primarily focuses on skiing techniques such as ascending, descending, and transitions, which is aimed to strengthen and enhance their skiing skills and aerobic and anaerobic abilities.

She said the biggest challenges she currently faces during training are unpredictable injuries.

One unforgettable experience, when representing the national team in a competition, was last year during the vertical sprint race at the Youth World Cup Ski Mountaineering season competitions in Italy.

"My body reached its limit, went into shock, and I had to be airlifted to the hospital for emergency treatment, and it was a painful experience," she recalled.

In 2022, ski mountaineering was added as one of the events of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and Yudron Lhamo was selected as one of the national athletes to prepare for it.

"I believe that Tibetan athletes hold their greatest advantage in terms of willpower and endurance in this sport," she said.

In a few weeks, she will be participating in the 14th National Winter Games scheduled to take place in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region from Feb 17 to 27.

"I do have confidence in this competition, but success is not guaranteed 100 percent as we can never prevent any risks at competitions."