September 03, 2013 (Putney, Vermont) – The NNF presents Origins, A new monthly posting that looks at the rise of ski sport in the US. We kick off the series with this collection of anecdotes from, renown skier, coach and leader, John Caldwell. Often referred to as the father of US Nordic skiing. He wrote the first American text on how-to Nordic ski in 1964, now in its eighth printing. Caldwell coached three Winter Olympic Teams and numerous well known US racers including, Bill Koch. He lives near Putney, Vermont.

Beginning   
My first skiing recollections date to the mid-30’s when I lived in Somerset, PA. My folks gave me a pair of skis for some unknown reason. (They never skied.)Wood, no edges, and with toe straps. So I tell people I started skiing almost 80 years ago. My skiing did not last long. In the first place, there was not a lot of snow in town and I knew of no other skiers. Next, I did go out one day, I know. I stepped into the skis and started down this long hill in some fairly deep powder. I coasted to a stop, fell out of the toe straps–that was expected–picked up the skis and climbed back up the hill. Next time down I went farther because the trick was to follow the original tracks and so I went faster. Fell down, found my skis, climbed back and probably did one more trip. End of the start of my skiing career.

We moved to Putney in 1941 so my father could take the job as business manager of the Putney School, a private, co-ed boarding school; a pretty rare thing in those days. I really started skiing in the winter of ’42 and it was all Alpine and jumping until we formed a team two years later. This was during WW II, complete with gas rationing, and there was precious little traveling for something as frivolous as going skiing, or going to a ski meet. In 1946 the rationing eased and our coach wanted to take us to the state high school championships. The problem was we needed four xc skiers and we only had one or two. I volunteered, got hold of my sister’s five foot wooden Alpine skis ( no edges), adjusted the bindings to my very flexible downhill boots (which also doubled as jumping boots) and I was ready to go. We went off to the state meet and did well enough to qualify for the New England Championships the next week-end. I thought I should get serious about training for xc and went out one day in the week preceding the New Englands. I got tired after a few minutes of thrashing around and quit, went to the New Englands and finished forty-eighth of fifty-two. Those three days on my sister’s alpine skis were the end of my high school xc career. Luckily, I got into Dartmouth in 1946 (It was fairly easy to get into colleges back then) and of course went out for the freshman ski team. I didn’t have xc skis, but the coach lent me his for a race with Kimball Union Academy. I couldn’t keep the bindings on and was a DNF. At the end of the season we went to a race in Rumford and again the coach lent me his skis. They came off just once–I had learned how to put on bindings by then–and I finished 26/26. So through my freshman year in college I had trained for xc one day, entered four races, finished three and that was that. What a sterling start in the world of xc!

John’s story continues at the NNF website HERE.