OXFORD — Famed cross-country skier Dave Carter, who passed away earlier this year, is one of eight skiers being inducted into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame in the fall.

Hall of fame director Dave Irons said Carter, who will be inducted at a banquet at Lost Valley in Auburn on Oct. 24, was a pioneer in the field. His wife, Anne, will accept the award on his behalf, Irons said.

“He was an outstanding cross-country competitor in high school and college, but his biggest contribution to the sport came through the development of cross-country ski centers in Oxford and Bethel, where he led countless young athletes into the sport,” Irons said. 

A member of the Gould Academy cross-country ski team, Carter grew up skiing and eventually went on to compete on the University of Maine’s cross-country ski team, where he raced with distinction.

Carter also worked for the Sunday River Ski Tour Center, and was one of four Mainers who helped start the Jackson Ski Touring center in Jackson, N.H.

He co-owned Carter’s X-C Ski Center with wife, with stores in Oxford and Bethel, for over 35 years. Together, they started the Oxford Hills Nordic Ski Club in 1981 with the community helping them build trails at their farm.

Carter passed away March 2 after a battle with cancer. He was 65.

In January, Irons notified the Bethel native that he had been chosen by the selection committee, fearing if he waited, it would be too late. After learning of the award, Carter told the Bethel Citizen a few weeks later that it was his dream to get as many people on skis as possible.

Carter’s crowning achievement in the field, Irons said, was passing on his passion to get others, especially children, to take up the sport. To this end, he began an after-school program in SAD 17 that ran from 1985 to 2005. Close to 100 children participated in the program each winter.

“Cross-country skiing is a labor of love. I don’t know anyone that’s gotten rich in at it,” Irons said.  

Other inductees include Brud Folger, a college ski coach; Nikki Pilavakis-Davoren, who won titles in boarder cross before it was an Olympic event; Bill Briggs, who is a member of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame; para-Olympic skier Carl Burnett; ski patrolman Tom Gyger; and Rob and Anna Parisien, Olympic ski racers. 

Located in Kingfield, the Ski Museum of Maine, which hosts the Hall of Fame, is a charitable organization established to preserve and publicize skiing in the state.

The Hall of Fame was started in 2003 to honor people who have substantially advanced the sport of skiing and the ski industry. Irons estimates that to date, 105 people have been inducted in the 12 years the the ceremony has been held. 

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