By Marty Basch

You see them skiing up the hill when you're skiing down. Called randonnée, ski mountaineering or alpine touring, races are popular in Europe and growing across the United States largely in the Rockies but here in New England too.

"To me, it's the best of both worlds," said U.S Ski Mountaineering Association director Pete Swenson. "I like to go fast downhill and also enjoy Nordic skiing. That is what ski mountaineering is all about."

Raised in North Conway, N.H. and living in Colorado, Swenson, 43, recently competed with the U.S. team at the Ski Mountaineering World Championships in Italy last month.

"New England is still a few seasons behind the Rocky Mountain West," he said. "But it wouldn't surprise me that in time it will become a real hot bed."

There are a couple of upcoming races in Vermont at Magic Mountain (March 12) and Bromley (March 26). A world-wide race calendar is at www.ussma.org.