SCALING NEW HEIGHTS

Tibetan teen excels at Lausanne 2020 to take sport of ski mountaineering by storm

Snow-capped mountains, blue skies and clear water－as Suolang Chodron surveys the scenery she feels like she could be at home. But rather than chasing sheep on the Tibetan Plateau, former shepherd girl Suolang has been chasing Olympic glory in the Swiss Alps, on the shores of Lake Geneva.

The 17-year-old came desperately close to realizing her podium dream in ski mountaineering at the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Games, but just missed out on bronze medals in both the individual and sprint races on Jan 10 and 13.

Considering she first stepped onto a pair of skis just three years ago, her fourth-place finishes were something of a minor miracle. "I love ski mountaineering. It's special, I think, to climb and climb and climb..." said Suolang.