Leadville, Colorado Ski Joring Festival

​Leadville, Colorado, is known for being the highest incorporated city in the United States and for being home to one of the most interesting competitions I have ever witnessed.

Ski Joring is a fast-paced skiing event where horses drag skiers through a course and over jumps. 

Leadville has perfected this fascinating Nordic sport over its 74 years of hosting the Leadville Ski Joring & Crystal Carnival. ​​​

Checkout my recap of the 2022 Leadville Ski Joring Festival in the video below!

​The History of Ski Joring:

The sport of ski joring was brought to Leadville by two locals looking to jazz up the town’s winter festival. They had driven up to Steamboat Springs for the Winter Carnival hoping to get some ideas. The two came back after witnessing ski joring as a mode of transportation and decided to make it into a competitive sport.

​The Ski Joring they saw was nothing like it is in Leadville today. Ski joring as transportation is the traditional form of ski joring from Nordic countries like Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Traditional skiers were also pulled by reindeer instead of horses like Santa Clause if he lost his sled.

The Growth of the Sport:

Over the decades, the sport underwent changes. Competitive Ski Joring rose in popularity and was featured as an exhibition sport in the 1928 Winter Olympics in Switzerland. When Denver put in a bid to host the Olympics in 1976, they tried to bring it back. Denver never hosted the Olympics, but many are hoping that ski joring might make a return on the 100th anniversary of its Olympic appearance.

Leadville has had its ski joring festival since 1949, and dozens of competitors register every year. Skiers, horses, and riders came from across the country for the return of this year’s festival. This year, over 50 people competed in the various events throughout the two days of competition. ​

Different categories of competition include an open division and a sport division awarding competitors for hitting jumps, collecting rings, and staying within the route’s boundaries. Competition moved quickly rotating through skiers and horses all day Saturday and Sunday. ​

Hundreds of spectators filled the streets of Leadville, and the festival made a successful return to main street Leadville. Last year, due to COVID, the festival was held at an alternative location. ​

The Leadville Ski Joring & Ice Crystal Festival is a fundraiser for the local Elks Lodge, and thousands of dollars are raised every year through the competitors, sponsors, and raffles. The festival takes place on the first weekend of March every year snow or shine. 2023 will be the 75th anniversary year, so start planning your trip now to witness this awesome local competition!  

Read about other things to do in Leadville year-round!