A Noted Name Turns Up Again in Green Skiing
WHEN sophomore Dick Durrance won Skimeister honors at the Dartmouth and Middlebury carnival meets this winter, the news sounded very familiar to those whose knowledge of Dartmouth skiing goes back 25 years. For Dick Durrance '65 is the son of one of Dartmouth's all-time skiing greats - Dick Durrance '39, the man who won 17 national titles and the genuine respect of Europeans, who up to that time were unaccustomed to paying much attention to American skiers.
To those who think he might be the skiing duplicate of his father, young Dick says, "Look, I'm not out to beat dad's record. In fact, I couldn't. And when he skied at Dartmouth, there were about 5,000 skiers in the whole country; now there are five million and no one is going to stay on top the way he did."
This is true. When the first Dick Durrance came to Dartmouth in 1934, he hit like a bombshell. A natural athlete with acrobatic ability, he had spent six years in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and learned ski tricks never visualized by the New Englanders.
In his first Dartmouth Winter Carnival meet Durrance made history by winning three events, taking one second and one third. Only 5-7 and 148 pounds, he had unbelievable stamina. Under Coach Otto Schniebs he went west to win the national championship which he held throughout his college career. He took a leave of absence as a sophomore to compete in the 1936 Olympics (with three Dartmouth teammates) and jolted the ski world by breaking into the top ten in the slalom.
After graduation, Durrance married Miggs Jennings, another Olympic skier from California, and made a career of skiing and photography. He helped to develop the Aspen, Colo., ski resort where his family now lives and currently he is a producer of documentary films and TV commercials.
"At 48 dad is still' a very strong skier," says young Dick. "Under tough conditions, in deep snow, I can't stay with him."
There is a marked similarity between Durrance senior and junior. The present Dartmouth sophomore at 5'8" and 150 is an inch taller but of a similar weight. Except for much more hair, he even looks like his dad.
Their debuts in Winter Carnival were similar, too. Recently in Dick's first Dartmouth Carnival competition he took Skimeister honors, placing third in slalom and cross-country, fourth in jumping, and sixth in the downhill. And when Dartmouth successfully defended its Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Championship at Middlebury, it was 20-year-old Dick Durrance who again was Skimeister. He finished among the top three Indians in all four events.
"He skis like his dad with a lot of drive and aggressiveness," said Merrill. "That is essential to successful skiing. If you don't have it, you may look good but you won't get there."
Dick was educated in Germany for two years (while his father was making Army films), at Colorado Rocky Mountain School, and at Andover, where he captained the ski team. He also captained last year's freshman team at Dartmouth and placed second in the National Four-Event Championships at Al Tahoe, Calif. "I enjoy competing in all four events but I don't like practicing that cross-country," he admits.
Today Durrance is concentrating on improving his technique in skiing. 'My two-week session at the U.S. Olympic training camp at Vail Pass, Colo., over Christmas was very valuable. There were about fifty of us (four from Dartmouth). We skied with the best in the country, including Chuck Ferries and Buddy Werner, and we learned a lot."
Durrance admits that Eastern skiing on packed, sometimes icy, snow gives good training for racing but believes nothing is so enjoyable as western skiing with its wide-open slopes and soft snow. He was scheduled to compete with the Dartmouth ski team in the NCAA championships at Solitude, Utah, last month. And just before college closed for spring vacation he, along with teammates Bryan Beattie, Jim Jacobson, and Pat Terenzini, was named to the 13-man Eastern Senior Alpine Team to compete in the Harriman Cup Races at Sun Valley and then the National Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska, Alaska - both of which will be important in determining the U. S. team members for the 1964 Olympics. Rooters for young Dick will include not only his father and mother but also his 17-year-old brother Dave, who is a skiing star at Deerfield Academy.
Of course, the Durrances are not the only celebrated skiing family involved in the current Dartmouth team. Sel Hannah '35 of Franconia, N.H., has two boys on the squad, both of whom have been skiing with their dad practically since walking age. Frank '64 and Sel '65 are both Nordic skiers at Dartmouth, having starred for the Littleton (N.H.) High team. Sel finished third in the Eastern intercollegiate jumping and sixth in the Eastern cross-country.
"I'm certainly happy these Dartmouth skiing alumni are producing sons," grins Coach Merrill.
Dick Durrance '65
Dick Durrance '39
