For two winters in 2012-13, the Winter Mountain Games celebrated ‘athletes, art, music and mountains’ in the Rocky Mountains of Vail, Colorado. Now 10-years later, the Winter Mountain Games are coming back to the Vail Valley in a “preview” event for 2022. This year’s three day event is stacked with good winter vibes including a lineup of free concerts, ice climbing demos, USA Skimo competitions, the Fat Tire Bike Challenge and more.

US Skimo competition - vail winter mountain games
US Skimo competition – Vail Winter Mountain Games. Ph: US SKimo

“This year everyone will get a taste of just how awesome this event is going to be. We’ll have a great lineup of concerts and a weekend of competition, art, and lifestyle celebration that will be a very bright part of this winter in the Rockies,”

 Dave Dressman, Event Director of the Mountain Games for the Vail Valley Foundation

Professional Ice Climbing was a major feature of the 2012 & 2013 Winter Games. This year, Ice Climbing demos and gear will be a part of the event as well. Next year, international Ice Climbing competition will return to the Games.

Winter Mountain Games : Music Lineup

When each day’s competition is done, the town of Vail will come alive in celebration of mountain culture and music. Here’s what you can expect from this year’s preview event: 

  • Friday, February 25 
    • 5PM: Low Cut Connie
    • 7PM: Galactic
    • 9PM: Teton Gravity Research’s After-Party
  • Saturday, February 26
    • 8:30AM: Bloodies and Bluegrass
    • 5PM: Jojo Herman
    • 7PM: Moon Taxi
    • 9PM: Teton Gravity Research’s After-Party

Winter Games : Sports & Competition

One of the best parts of Vail’s Summer Mountain Games is that professional and amateur athletes can compete shoulder-to-shoulder on some of the same courses and terrain. This will hold true at most of the 2022 Winter Games Preview athletic events as well.

Watching the Competition at the Winter Mountain Games
  • Fat Tire Bike Challenge
  • Running & Snowshoeing
    • Nature Valley Bootlegger
    • XC Snowshoe 5K
    • XC Snowshoe 10K
  • Skimo
    • Individual
    • Tincup Whiskey Sprint
    • Veritcal
  • Bring the Dogs!
    • 5K Snowshoe Dog Derby

In addition to all the music and sports, the 2022 Winter Games will also feature a vendor village known as “Gear Town.” The vendor booths at Vail’s Summer Mountain Games are a major attraction should prove no different for the Winter event. Think of Gear Town as the Mountain Games equivalent to a farmers market, but with one big exception: we’ve traded the fresh produce for gear, schwag, concessions, art, live music, and a solid collection of fan favorite outdoor brands.

To cap it all off, keep watch for other great Mountain Culture events like: film showings, gear demos, sponsor shows, après events, and more.