Stein Eriksen — 1927-2015
Stein Eriksen
By Emily Summers, Deer Valley
Stein Eriksen, the legendary alpine skier whose revolutionary technique and distinctive style made him a founder of modern skiing, passed away peacefully Dec. 27, 2015, at his home in Park City surrounded by family. He was 88.
As one of the most recognized names in the ski world, Stein Eriksen has been synonymous with skiing style and elegance for more than 60 years. The first alpine skier to win triple gold at a world championship, an Olympic Gold Medalist and ambassador and father of freestyle skiing, Stein Eriksen parlayed all that he knew and loved about the sport into an incredible career that spanned almost six decades and changed the face of alpine skiing worldwide.
The patriarch of elegant skiing, Eriksen successfully turned his passion for skiing into a lifetime career. His desire to develop an internationally-renowned luxury hotel, which now bears his name, is located mid-mountain at Deer Valley Resort, where he served as Director of Skiing for more than 35 years.
A native of Norway, Eriksen lived in the United States for the last six decades. Prior to joining Deer Valley Resort, he was involved in the development of the then Park City Ski Area, now Park City Mountain. Before Park City, Stein spent four years as director of skiing and ski school director at Snowmass, Colorado, and four years as ski school director at Sugarbush, Vermont. He also served as ski school director and owned his own sport shop in Aspen, Colorado. From 1956 to 1958, he was ski school director for Heavenly Mountain Resort, having previously served in the same position at Boyne Mountain, Mich., from 1954 to 1956.
RIP Stein, I met Stein and his lovely wife back in the early 80’s at Deer Valley. It is a memory I will always cherish. Say hi to OLS for us..enjoy the eternity of fresh powder, you deserve it!
I remember as a kid back in the 60s watching this fine athlete do his famous backflip ski jump on top of the face off that large boulder to the right of the skilift. Amazing skier with the graceful style that you don’t see very often these days. RIP MR.Eriksen, the world has lost another “One Of A Kind” athlete.
I forgot to mention, like his name, Stein was like a true “Viking” on skies, beautiful wavy flowing blonde hair, sun tanned face, the ultimate ski warrior. He had the WHOLE package going on.
Have fun skiing the heavens Stein! I just saw him about three weeks ago. He was out enjoying the race at Deer Valley. He was a great guy and a true skiing legend.
Definitely a class act – met him in Aspen when I lived there (when SnowMass was a new resort), and again in Park City. He was a true gentleman who shared his love for skiing with everyone. Ski the heavens where those moguls are cloud puffs… RIP.
Worked with Stein at Heavenly for 2 years, he was a true Gentleman and a lot of fun to ski with. R.I.P.