I remember when my dad taught me how to ski, when I was maybe four years old. My mother was a ski instructor, and so she tried to teach me using the “correct” methods, using “pizza, french fries,” etc. I always ended up crying, and my poor mom had to carry me down the hill while I threw a tantrum. My dad, however, simply stuck me in a harness and held the other end of the rope. He would try to steer me while I pointed straight down the slope. It’s been a little over 12 years since then and I still love skiing.
Of course, some of my passion for skiing must be attributed to genetics. Known to the majority of the Telluride and Ridgway communities as “Normy,” my father was incredibly athletic. Hailing from Long Beach, CA, he was a natural surfer. With that came skateboarding. Both of these stuck with him for his whole life, and he could still do a handstand on a moving skateboard at the age of 62. Next was mountain biking. He took it up before it was anything like today. He moved to Durango, CO and rode professionally for Schwinn during the time that mountain biking became popular, racing with a lot of the big names, never taking himself or any of it very seriously. For him, it was always for the love of the sport, even though he enjoyed the competition.
When he moved to Durango, he did things here and there, and eventually earned a ski pass by working for the mountain. Normy would tell you that he “invented” snowboarding. Of course, this isn’t exactly true. However, he did help to popularize it. But he eventually switched to skiing. As with most things he did, he picked it up pretty fast and became one of the best. Eventually, he ended up in Telluride, where he became a pillar of the community, and helped shape it into what it used to be: authentic (or real, as the locals like to say).
Norman was an excellent baker, in addition to pretty much everything else. He owned the Stone House bakery in Durango for a few years, along with putting in countless hours at Baked in Telluride over a period of a few decades. More recently, he assisted in baking operations at Crumb in Ridgway for a few months, and probably far past the time when he should’ve stopped due to his declining health. Well into the fall and winter, he showed up every morning, a joint in his mouth. Eventually, he started showing up on a walker, but kept showing up nonetheless.
That was one consistent thing in his fight with cancer over the past year: his persistence. He refused to take his diagnosis lying down – quite literally. Given the state of his cancer, and his worsening condition, he made it a lot further than he should’ve, perhaps by sheer force of will. He also refused to lie down until the very end, knowing that he may never get up again. Part of this stubbornness can be attributed to his childhood. When my father was 14 or 15, he mysteriously became paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors told him he’d never walk again. Around a year later, he made a full recovery. One time, somebody theorized that because he’d been surfing near poison ivy, the plant somehow got into his bloodstream and swelled his joints. This also explained his newfound immunity to poison ivy. Yet another example of him conquering the unconquerable.
He helped to build and shape this community in more ways than one. Carving out the beginnings of what are now known as the RAT trails, building one of the first houses in River Park, the list goes on. Whether you knew Normy from his work at Second Chance or saw him on his unicycle with his morning coffee in hand, multiple dog leashes in the other, or from the massive statue of liberty on his front lawn holding her political signs, his memory will live on in the community.
On Saturday, May 1 there will be a memorial ride on the RAT mountain bike trails leaving from Ridgway Wrench at 10 am. Join us or just come to see the riders off. A celebration of the life of Jeff Norman will take place at 380 North Cora in Ridgway following the ride or around 1:00. All are welcome as Jeff touched many lives throughout the San Juans and beyond. There are some great videos of Jeff on YouTube commemorating his life that can be found upon searching Jeff Norman.
