University of Denver Winter 2024

DU Skiing Retrospective Global heritage and unrelenting drive weave through team’s success

BY MATT MEYER

T he alpine ski run at Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria, had almost completely iced over when Otto Tschudi (BSBA ’75) stepped up to the gate for his best professional race ever. He was competing on the 1969 FIS (International Ski Federation) World Cup circuit for Norway and was wearing bib No. 48, putting 47 skiers in front of him in an era without artificial snowmaking. “In those days, with a late start number, there were a lot of bumps and holes on the way down,” Tschudi says with a laugh. “Everybody else had already gone to the bar, and they thought the race was over. But it wasn’t.” Tschudi placed 10th, his best World Cup result. While he was celebrating in the sparse finishing area, an unfa miliar man approached Tschudi and asked him a simple question in German: “Haben see auf die shuhle gedacht?” Translated: “Have you thought about school?” That man was legendary University of Denver ski coach Willy Schaeffler, at the time nearing the end of his 22-year run leading the ski program—plus an eight-year stint as the men’s soccer coach—but still at the height of his work with the U.S. National Ski Team. Tschudi initially brushed him off. “’No, no, next weekend I’m on that podium,” Tschudi recalls telling Schaeffler while motioning to the nearby raised platform, the pinnacle of World Cup racing. “School? No interest.” But Schaeffler had been sent by Jon Terje Överland, a former DU alpine skier and someone who had also competed for Norway alongside

Tschudi at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. The persistent coach leveraged that connection into a 20-minute conversation, which led the skier to ask: “So, where is Denver?” “The deal he gave me was that you ski three (collegiate) races a year, and you can keep skiing the World Cup if you keep your grades up,” Tschudi says. “So, I took the deal, and it ended up working out very well for me.” Tschudi took a ship from Europe to New York, then a Greyhound bus to Denver. He traveled across gently rising plains and arrived in the city on a cloudy day, one that obscured the mountains, and initially thought himself the victim of an elaborate prank. But after confirming there were indeed gorgeous, snow-covered slopes just a few miles west of Denver, he quickly fell in love with the campus, skiing opportunities and camaraderie that came with collegiate competition. He joined a diverse group of competi tors, many of whom were Europeans— for once pulling in the same direction. Tschudi continued to shine on the sport’s largest stages, including another trip to the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, where he vied with five other current and former DU skiers for international glory. Prior to graduating in 1975 with a B.S. in hotel and restaurant management and international business, he became the most decorated skier in DU history, winning five individual collegiate national titles, including a program-best three top finishes in the 1971 championships.

Top to bottom row; left to right RECRUIT. Ski team member (1970–1972) and current Board of Trust ee member Otto Tschudi (BSBA ’75). SWAG. Men’s ski team members depart to South America on Braniff Airways between 1955–1956. Pictured (l–r): Will Olson (BSBA ’56), Dave Shaw (BSBA ’57), coach Willy Schaeffler, Henning Arstal, John Cress (BA ’56) and Tom Carter (BA ’59). SLOPESIDE. The team trains with Coach Willy Schaeffler, 1955. RECOVERY. Ski team member Henning Arstal cools off in a refrigera tor next to Coach Willy Schaeffler. THE FIRST. In 1946, alpine skier Barbara Kidder (BA ’48) became the first skier, male or female, to win a national collegiate championship at DU. She was inducted into the University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. DARTMOUTH OR BUST. The Pioneers men’s ski team en route to the 36th annual Dartmouth Winter Carnival. Pictured (l–r): team captain Art Kidder, Jr., Ross Davis (BSBA ’48), Jim Patterson, Coach Gordon Wren, Ralph Ball (JD ’48) and Jerry Hiatt. I CAN FLY. Men’s ski jumper, 1975–1980. Credit: Richard W. Purdie.

WINTER 2024 • UNIVERSITY of DENVER MAGAZINE | 19