Summit County’s oldest resident, 101-year-old Stuart “Boot” Gordon, got his first taste of skiing on a snowbank in Minnesota. He was 5 years old and stole his older brothers skis.
“I went out by myself and I was so disgusted. Every time I’d go down the hill, my skis would come off because there was just a simple strap over the toes,” Boot remembers. “This old man says to me, ‘Mister little boy, be careful.’ I wanted to be careful, but the damn skis kept coming off. So as we got older, my brother and his friend, they cut these bands off inner tubes and we’d put those around our ankles so the skis would stay on. We could cross-country ski, we built jumps and things, but off course you couldn’t turn because you’d turn your foot and the band would stretch.”
That need for speed and thrills never left him. Boot joined the military and flew with three fighter squadrons in World War II and the Korean War. It’s how he earned his nickname: He once pulled his parachute and his boots came clean off.
After leaving the military in the ’50s, Boot made his way to the Rocky Mountains and Summit, where he taught English, the arts and skiing. He has been here ever since.
“I was probably the best ski teacher in the country, one of the best, but I was one of the worst ski instructors,” Boot laughs. “I would have eight students in a class and I wanted each one of them to become an expert skier as soon as possible. By the next day they wouldn’t come back because they knew how to ski.”
Boot recently sat down with Krystal 93 news director Phil Lindeman for a glimpse at his many lives. Find the interview on our YouTube channel.
Boot is the guest of honor tonight, Nov. 11, at Summit Middle School for the Veterans Day concert presented by Summit Rotary. Student musicians join members of Summit Concert Band for a selection of patriotic tunes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Music starts at 7 p.m.
