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Eriksen is home from the hospital
The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake City, Dec. 25 -- Stein Eriksen, the 80-year-old ski legend who was seriously injured Dec. 16 in a collision at Deer Valley, has been released from University Hospital, a hospital spokesman said.

See the full story in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Stein Eriksen regales 80th birthday party
with humor and humility

DEER VALLEY, Utah, Dec. 16, 2007– The gala celebration marking Stein Eriksen’s 80th birthday -- and the 25th anniversary of the exclusive Stein Eriksen Lodge -- honored his achievements.

It also showcased his humor and humility.

“People ask me what I want to do when I retire, and I tell them I have to find something to retire from,” he quipped.

Eriksen, the Norwegian 1952 Olympic medalist and the grandfather of freestyle skiing, combined his passion for skiing with his passion to build a lodge that would be one of the world’s finest. He reminisced on his entrepreneurial drive that began when he came to the United States in 1954 and was hired into the ski school at Boyne Mountain, Mich. “I only knew life as a ski bum. They offered me a job and I took it and said [to myself]: It’s easy to make a living in this country.”

Stein with wife Francoise and son Bjorn

Nearly three decades later, after a stunning career as ski school director at five major mountains, Eriksen and Deer Valley owner Edgar Stern stood on the mountain’s snowy slopes and “signed an agreement with a handshake” authorizing Eriksen to develop the lodge of his dreams. The exclusive Stein Eriksen Lodge opened in December 1982 and has continually garnered international acclaim.

The 180 rooms and suites are privately owned, but Eriksen enjoys the limelight of his namesake. “People ask me if I own the lodge,” he said. “I tell them: That’s my name on the door.”

"I have made 1.7 million turns on the slopes, and I’ve measured those turns in dollars," Eriksen said. "But I won’t tell you what each turn has been worth because I really did it for the fun."

From all that fun, he has four favorite accomplishments: winning the Olympics, being knighted by the King of Norway for his achievements, being accepted and loved in the United States even though he came as a foreigner, and being a key pioneer in promoting the sport of skiing.

“I take a lot of credit for the popularity of skiing,” he said. “I played around on the slopes for 40 or 50 years and now there are millions of skiers. I know from inside my heart that it is a beautiful thing to see all the people on the slopes smiling and having a good time.” For senior-aged skiers he also has advice: “Keep going.”

Eriksen enjoys socializing daily with lodge guests and chatting with Deer Valley’s skiers. His social nature prevailed as he entertained the 300 gala partygoers, including ski industry moguls, business associates, lodge owners and Norwegian racers and cronies, with his wit and humor. However, he was stunned speechless and his ice blue eyes streamed with tears of appreciation when, with a tug of a cord, he unveiled the bronze statue of himself carrying skis that is now mounted at the Stein Eriksen Lodge entrance.

Finally, he found words of thanks saying: “When we meet on the mountain again it will be with an expression of smiles and happiness.”

Tales of Stein

Alan Engen, director of skiing at Alta, said his favorite memory of Eriksen was trying to keep up with him and follow him down the mountain. For Junior Bounous, director of skiing at Snowbird, his favorite memory was watching Eriksen ski. “I generally watched him from the rear and it didn’t last very long,” Bounous said.

Leif Grevle, ski and snowboard school director at Solitude, has childhood memories of Eriksen.

"We lived on a farm in Voss, Norway, the site of the 1954 Norwegian championships," Grevle recalled. "The finish line was so close to the house the racers could have run right into our kitchen." Eriksen overshot the finish line, ran into a small pine tree in the yard and split it. Grevle’s father splinted the tree back together and the tree continued to grow, but it grew as two trees which they named “Stein’s trees.” During the championships, Eriksen napped in Grevle’s bedroom.

Prior to Eriksen’s generation, Norway was primarily a Nordic skiing country. However, when Eriksen won the Olympics in alpine skiing, it was a heralded as a national victory and everybody celebrated it.

"He has always been a mentor to me," Grevle said. The sentiment was echoed by many.

Photo credit: Harriet Wallis

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