Persona

Eriksen, Stein

December 11, 1927 – December 27, 2015

Stein Eriksen was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Norway. Following his racing career, he was a ski school director and ambassador at various ski resorts. He was born on December 11, 1927 in Oslo, Norway to parents Marius Eriksen and Birgit Heien. His father competed in the 1912 Olympic Games as a gymnast. His brother, Marius Eriksen, Jr., was an alpine skier and, during World War II, became a fighter ace in the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Stein Eriksen was the top slalom racer in Norway in 1949 and took bronze in the slalom at the 1950 World Championships in Aspen, CO. In the 1952 Oslo Winter Olympic Games, Eriksen won the gold medal in the giant slalom and the silver medal in the slalom. Eriksen was the first male alpine ski racer from outside the Alps to win an Olympic gold medal. He also won three gold medals at the 1954 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. He won six Norwegian championship titles between 1949 and 1954. In 1951 and 1954, Eriksen won the vote for Norway's Sportsman of the Year. For his Olympic medals, Eriksen earned the Holmenkollen Medal in 1952. Shortly after his success in the 1952 Olympics, Eriksen moved to the United States. While ski racing for Norway, he was a ski instructor at Sun Valley in Idaho. Following his racing career, he was the ski school director at various resorts, including Boyne Mountain, MI; Pine Knob, MI; Sugarbush, VT; Heavenly Valley, CA; Snowmass, CO; Aspen, CO; Park City, UT, and Deer Valley Resort, UT, where he also served as host of the Stein Eriksen Lodge, a ski lodge in Deer Valley (not owned by Eriksen, but named in his honor). During his time in the United States, he became known for pioneering early freestyle skiing, devising "aerials", a freestyle skiing event, and helping revolutionize the world of alpine skiing in the United States. While working at Sugarbush Resort in Vermont, each Sunday afternoon, combining his gymnastics background and his skiing, Stein would demonstrate a flip on skis. Eriksen was married to Gerrysue Eriksen then to Françoise Eriksen, fathering five children: Julianna, Ava, Stein Jr., Anja, and Bjørn. He called both Utah and Montana home. In 1997, Eriksen was honored by the King of Norway. He was knighted with the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for his contribution to Norway, the highest honor that the Norwegian government can give to people living outside Norway. He died on December 27, 2015, sixteen days after his 88th birthday, in his Park City, UT home.

Oslo, Norway
Sun Valley, ID
Boyne Mountain, MI
Pine Knob, MI
Sugarbush, VT
Heavenly Valley, CA
Snowmass, CO
Aspen, CO
Deer Valley, UT
Park City, UT

Alpine ski racer
Ski school director
Ski instructor
Freestyle skiing pioneer

RAD, July 2008 version. Canadian Council of Archives.

Catalogued April 2022.

1) Archival material
2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stein_Eriksen
3) https://de-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Stein_Eriksen?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc