Hall of Fame bound: How Jon Kreamelmeyer鈥檚 passion for coaching shaped skiing in Colorado
John Taylor/Courtesy photo
When Jon Kreamelmeyer became a Nordic ski coach, he never imagined that he would someday be inducted into the
Raised in Golden, Kreamelmeyer was accustomed to downhill skiing on a regular basis, but did not frequent the slopes as much as those who live in the High County. While the winter sport was thrilling, Kreamelmeyer was more interested in becoming a well-rounded wrestler throughout his adolescence.
“I skied as a kid, but I was really a wrestler,” Kreamelmeyer said. “I wrestled at Golden and I wrestled in college.”
When Kreamelmeyer was not focused on becoming the best wrestler he could be, he would often hitchhike on Interstate 70 in hopes of getting to Arapahoe Basin 撸先生 Area or Loveland 撸先生 Area.
“We would hitchhike to where anyone was going,” Kreamelmeyer said. “It would either be A-Basin or Loveland, sometimes Winter Park. It wasn’t really my sport, and that was Alpine skiing.”
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With his high school wrestling coach Darrel Hafling helping to shape him as an athlete and a young man, Kreamelmeyer was able to actualize his dream of pursuing wrestling at the collegiate level.
Kreamelmeyer first attended North Dakota State University before competing at Dakota Wesleyan University. Upon graduating from college with a degree in education and psychology, Kreamelmeyer quickly realized he wanted to return to the Centennial State.
Fresh off receiving his diploma, Kreamelmeyer applied for two teaching jobs in the Colorado High Country 鈥� one in Leadville and the other in Summit County.
Kreamelmeyer was eventually hired as an English teacher and wrestling coach in the county in 1970. It was when he was at the helm of the wrestling program that Kreamelmeyer was able to discover the art of coaching.
“My mentor in coaching was my high school coach,” Kreamelmeyer said. “I didn’t realize how amazing he was until I was out of college. It was his passion. When I coached here, I really tried to emulate him.”
Kreamelmeyer enjoyed the craft of shaping and crafting athletes so much that he decided to branch into snowsports, getting his Professional 撸先生 Instructors of America certification.
“I got a pair of Jarvinen wood skis from at the Frisco Lodge,” Kreamelmeyer said. “I went through PSIAs and started teaching with .”
Over time, Kreamelmeyer was able to truly find his lane in the cross-country skiing scene. With the Summit School District still being quite small, Kreamelmeyer was asked to be an assistant coach for the Summit High School Nordic ski team around 1975.
In the span of 10 years, Kreamelmeyer helped shape the Summit High School Nordic team into one of the most premier teams in the state. After serving as an assistant for several years, Kreamelmeyer took over the head coaching role in the mid-1980s and led the Tigers to several state championships.
“I think my love for coaching is just ingrained,” Kreamelmeyer said. “I really enjoy explaining and watching and then seeing the result.”
Following his success at the high-school level, Kreamelmeyer got the opportunity to become a guide for the U.S. Disabled 撸先生 Team (now the U.S. Paralympic 撸先生 Team) in the early 1990s. Kreamelmeyer served as a huge asset for the U.S. Disabled 撸先生 Team, guiding blind skier Michelle Drolet at the 1994 Paralympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
With Kreamelmeyer helping to guide the talented skier, the duo was able to win a Paralympic bronze medal. Over 30 years later, Kreamelmeyer still gushes and beams about the medal-winning performance.
“We were lucky to get on the podium in ’94,” Kreamelmeyer said. “She got a bronze medal. I think back on it as being pretty wild. To this day, she is still the only standing disabled skier that has been on the podium. It has been a while.”
It was his success in Lillehammer that allowed Kreamelmeyer to be appointed the assistant coach of the U.S. Disabled 撸先生 Team from 1995-1998 before becoming the head coach through 2010.
Kreamelmeyer lost a leg due to an aneurysm behind his knee. Kreamelmeyer had a total of six surgeries in eight days. Although he is now confined to crutches or a wheelchair, Kreamelmeyer’s heart is just as big as the day he moved to Summit County, continuing to coach youth Nordic skiers in the community.
“I help out once or twice a month, mostly technical,” Kreamelmeyer said. “These kids are 12, 13, 14, 15-years-old and I am trying to explain what is going on with one leg. So I use my hands a lot. I really enjoy it, it makes me feel whole. I would like to continue to do that for one more year, maybe two.”
Despite being an influential force in the Nordic skiing community, Kreamelmeyer never envisioned a day in which he would be inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame. Kreamelmeyer attributes all of his success in the snowsports industry to his athletes, his family and anyone he has crossed paths with over the last 55 years in the county.
“It is not about me, it really isn’t,” Kreamelmeyer said. “It is about the other people that were so supportive. I am a little overwhelmed with the attention, but I am really honored. 鈥� Family, athletes and community. It is really about so many people. It is about the support I have been given throughout the years.”
Kreamelmeyer will officially be inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame as an inspirational sports builder on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Vilar Performing Arts Center at Beaver Creek Resort.
Tickets for general admission start at $75, with all proceeds going to support the Colorado Snowsports Museum. Tickets are on sale now at
