BOB HEDLOFF
bobhedloff@frontiernet.net
Age: 74
Ski Club: “Old” Ely (MN) Ski Club
It was the summer of 1965 and I had just returned to Ely from a year out West jumping for CU. It was a nice experience but I was looking forward to the upcoming winter and remaining in Ely. I wanted to touch base with a lot of the guys I had met over the years on the junior circuit and to try the larger hills I never had the opportunity to ski. I did get my feet wet on “Fon Du” in Duluth and the 55-60 meter hill they had in Ft. William (Thunder Bay) during my senior year. Staying one year too long (now that is another story) in the juniors really ruined my chances to progress in the sport as many of my peers had done. But, I was looking forward to the challenge.
Events came and went that year and when the next one was Pine Mountain, I really was looking forward to that event. Having had maybe 20-25 rides on the 90 at Steamboat, I was curious and excited to compare the two hills. So, four of us from Ely (Nappa, Nikkola, Johnson and myself) got in the car and after a road weary ride of 6-7 hours, we arrived in Iron Mountain. We went directly to the hill. Much to our dismay, the wind was blowing and no one other than Jim Balfanz was taking any rides. So, we stood idly by and waited for the conditions to improve.
Well, after some time, a friend of mine from St. Paul, Tom (a.k.a. “Corky” Denisson) stopped by and said, “let’s take a ride down the landing instead of just standing around .”. So, I went and got my skis off the roof of the car and met him at the knoll. Down he went and me right behind. Now, after a few meters I noticed that my skis were not gliding like they should.
This continued for quite a while and then I realized this may or may not turn out well. I knew one of three things would happen. (A.) the skis would clear up and all would be normal. (B.) they would speed up and I would end up on my derriere or (C.) I would stick and take a header. This, of course, wouldn’t be much of a story if it was (A.) so it would be (B.) or (C.). I hit the dip and with a thud, took a header!!! After some EMTs arrived and relieved me of snow covering my face, all we saw on the snow and face was blood!!! Seems I had cracked my nose pretty bad and they took me to the emergency room at the Iron Mountain hospital. The result was a broken nose! Just great!! AND from just riding the landing. How would I ever live this down?????
The next morning I awoke to a swollen nose, black and blue area surrounding this aching area as well as a splitting headache. So, there it was; I became a spectator for the event. But, after the initial disappointment, I said what the heck, I would get over this and be back next year. Well, the next year I was back out west skiing for CU and the following year, I had quit competitive jumping. The comparison was never fulfilled.
So, in summation, I can only offer this advice to young jumpers or to those who on occasion fail to use their heads: never, but never, take a ride without CLEANING THE ROAD SCUM off your skis or never take a ride down the landing alone with Corky!!! (just kidding, friend ).
To those of you who I have skied with, greetings and hope life has treated you well. To the others, let’s just keep this under our caps so nobody finds out!!!!!
HOW ABOUT A FRIENDLY WAGER!
Knowing how competitive we all are and understanding how deeply we associate with our respective Nordic sport (and how much we admire our sisters and brethren on the other side of the Nordic fence) we are setting up a friendly competition on the fundraising side this year. NOTE THAT ALL FUNDS, WHETHER DONATED THROUGH THE NORDIC COMBINED OR SKI JUMPING LINK, WILL GO TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND TOP TEAMS OF BOTH PROGRAMS!
