Okay, so this story has nothing to do with Mount Hood, but I am the editor and the subject is my Uncle Tony, so I’m going to run it anyhow. Because it is a heck of a story.

Tony Carleton raced for the Dartmouth Ski Team in the 1950s and was an early pioneer of summer skiing both on Mount Hood and in South America. In his prime the guy could ski anything, any conditions, fast but in perfect control, with stellar form. Following him down the mountain when I was a kid was one of the treats of my childhood.

One of Tony’s best friends for many decades has been Dick Perkins, who also raced for Dartmouth and shares Tony’s love for skiing. They skied together over the years when they could, when they weren’t busy with the responsibilities of family, career and the rest.

These days Tony is 80 with a neurological disorder and Dick is 78 and legally blind. But they still ski together, fast, and with consummate skill. Tony and Dick have become local legends in the Boston-area mountain community as the two old-timers wearing fluorescent orange who are nearly impossible to keep up with, even though one of them can hardly pull his ski boots on and the other is legally blind.

KBUR in Boston recently put together an excellent profile of Tony and Dick, with video and audio. I highly recommend listening to the audio as well as reading the story. But then again, I am highly biased, since Tony is my uncle and hearing his voice brings back many good memories. Here is the link the KBUR story.

Last modified: April 7, 2014