Trofeo Kima 2022 – The legend returns… with big news!
Close to reaching sold-out: Trofeo Kima takes place on Sunday, 28 August, with a new window for entries opening in May. As always, entries will be strictly vetted, meaning only the world’s top athletes in the discipline make it to the start. However, wider participation is positively encouraged in the brand-new Kima Extreme Skyrace, which follows the final section of the ultra skymarathon, as well as the Kima Trail and MiniKima.
Keeping its late August slot on the calendar, the world’s toughest, most technical, and jaw-dropping skyrace returns after its Covid-19-induced cancellation in 2020. With 85% of the 2020’s original start line expressing an interest to compete this August, Trofeo Kima’s race HQ is in the process of sending individual entry codes that need to be used before 30/04/2022 to claim a spot on the start line this time around. General entries will reopen on 1 May, 2022.
There are roughly 80 race numbers up for grabs—but don’t forget Trofeo Kima’s standard conditions for entry, which involve demonstrating proof of experience and relevant results in qualifying races to possess the required ITRA points (650 for male athletes, 500 for females). Athletes will be accepted based on experience and performance.
The programme:
The action begins on Saturday, 27 August 2022 with the Kima Trail and MiniKima. On Sunday, the granite ridges of ‘Europe’s Yosemite’ play host to Trofeo Kima and the all-new Kima Extreme Skyrace. Entries are capped across the weekend – limited to 500 in the Kima Trail and 300 in the new Extreme Skyrace – meaning that a broader community of 800 athletes in total get the opportunity to compete in the unspoilt natural paradise of Val di Mello in a manner that suits the individual: be it the less technical, but no less beautiful Kima Trail, or the more unkempt and arguably tougher Kima Extreme Skyrace, which follows the latter part of the mythical Trofeo Kima. The Kima Trail and MiniKima both retain their standard distances (14km and 6km), while the brand new Kima Extreme Skyrace starts at 8 am from the classic location at the Casa delle Guida in Filorera to cover a distance of 25.5 km with 1,850 metres of climbing. In its inaugural edition, athletes begin by climbing towards Rifugio Gianetti, crossing the race’s highest point at 2,570 metres above sea level (Passo Barbacan), before descending past Rifugio Omio. A smaller, bite-sized version of the Trofeo Kima, the Extreme is an opportunity for athletes to push their limits on the same route as the ultra.
Playing out at the same time, the crème de la crème of skyrunning will be testing their mettle and hoping to graduate on the world’s most technical, high altitude and awe-inspiring course found anywhere in the Alps.
The myth, the tradition, the legend: This legendary event was created by Ilde Marchetti in memory of his brother Pierangelo. For Trofeo Kima undergrads, what awaits is an iconic challenge with 52 technical kilometres, 8,400 metres of accumulative climbing and descending, and 7 Alpine passes above 2,500 metres (Passo Cameraccio at an elevation of 2,950 metres is the highest point).
