NSW Nordic Ski Club
Looking Back
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Nordic skiing has a long history in this country. In 1861, local newspaper reports tell of skiing as a sport in the goldmining township of Kiandra. In the 1930's George Arlberg and Reg Gelling skied from the old Hotel Kosciusko to Kiandra in just on 18 hours. Ken Breakspear was a celebrated cross-country skier with some remarkable performances. Cross country or "langlauf" as it was then called played a big part in the Australia ski scene. Trips, both competitive and non-competitive, to the "Summit" were frequently attempted.
Sverre Kaaten, a stalwart in the Nordic sport and whom the Nordic Shelter in Perisher Valley is named after, was a remarkable performer in both jumping and cross-country. In 1952 Australia was represented at the Winter Olymics in Oslo by Bruce Haslingden and Cedric Sloane. Our team travelled to Norway by ship! The Nordics has a revival of interest in the early 1950's with the arrival of the Selmer Company complete with large number of Norwegians for the Snowy Mountains Authority dam building at Guthega. Dick Walpole and Hal Nerdal represented Australia at the 1960's Olympics in Squaw Valley. Following this, the manager's report somewhat scathingly suggested that Nordic competitors should in future be excluded from Australian teams, and it also questioned whether Nordic competitions should be held in Australia at all! ("If you cannot win-hide in shame."-quote from the "Australia National Dog Handbook "by J. Dingo)
This sparked the re-birth. Dick Walpole contributed a wealth of knowledge to Australia and was instrumental in the development of many younger racers. Kore Grunnsund, infuriated by the 1960 team manager's report and suggestions, returned to the sport and was a driving force for many years. To attract attention to the sport he, Otto Pinkas and Robbie Kilpinen made many attempts at the K-K (Kosciusko to Kiandra) record. The time gradually reduced to Kilpinen's 8 hours 11 minutes on 21 August 1964. Olympian David Hislop holds the current record of 6hours 18 minutes which he achieved in 1985. Pinkas and Grunnsund went on in 1966 to create the first XC trail at Perisher Valley, the current 5km loop.
In Victoria in 1964, Jeff Renkin, John Brown and Charlie Derrick set a similar record from the foot of Bogong to Hotham - 13 hours 15 minutes. In September 1965, Derrick (uncle of current Australian XC Champ Ben Derrick-eds) attempted the Bogong-Hotham record. He perished less than a mile from its completion. Charlie's motives in attempting the record were to bring attention to his sport. His tragic death has deeply committed a number of people to the sport and the Charles Derrick Memorial Race is a major race with deep significance today. Traditionally held on the first Saturday in September it is organised by the Wangaratta's Ski Club. The record for the first solo winter X-C ski crossing was established by Danny Flynn on August 31st 1975 at 10 hours 15 minutes.
Throughout the late 1960's, Australian skiers travelled to Norway which did a lot for the development of knowledge in the country. None of these visits would have been possible without the very generous support of various organisations and also Sverre Kaaten, Kurt Lance and Paddy Pallin. American coach Mike Brady was also a regular visitor and contributor to the sport and he gone on to become a well known author and video producer. Sverre, Kurt and Paddy had dug deep into their own pockets on many occasions and Nordic racers and tourers today should appreciate these contributions and their influence on our sport today.
In 1972 Bob and Norma Cranage (owners of Snowgum Wodonga) founded the Telemark Nordic Ski Club. This specialist Nordic Ski Club was to be the foundation of many Nordic initiatives in Victoria e.g. development of junior racing, overseas junior teams, school programs, training squads, formation of new clubs. With the development of recreational cross-country skiing in recent years, it was apparent to some people that a separate committee within the ski association was needed. In 1974 David Biggs was the prime mover in establishing a Touring Committee for the NSW Ski Association which has done tremendous work in producing maps of touring trails, touring literature and in promoting the interests of the touring skier. 1975 saw the formation of a separate Ski Touring Association in Victoria (S.T.A.V.) with similar aims to the touring committee in NSW.
Ross was an Olympian at Grenoble, France in 1968 and a former winner of the Paddy Pallin Classic. A more extensive version of this article was originally published in Australian Cross-Country News Winter 2001.
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