Trygve Berge, Breckenridge Resort Co-Founder and Skiing Pioneer, Dies at 93

Trygve Berge, a member of the Colorado Snowsports Museum Hall of Fame and co-founder of Breckenridge Ski Resort, Colorado, died on April 2, 2026, after a “brief illness,” an obituary shared by the Summit Dailysaid.

Berge was one of several immigrants who helped shape how modern American skiing looks and feels. 

Born in 1932 in Voss, Norway, he and his family lived through Nazi occupation. The Summit Daily reported that during the occupation, gatherings, including those that involved skiing, weren’t allowed. When the occupation ended, Berge “essentially stumbled on” alpine skiing and ended up winning his first race through gates.

Berge first hoped to become an architect, but instead doubled down on skiing, moving to Oslo, a hotspot for alpine skiers. As a racer, he won the Norwegian downhill national championship and represented Norway during the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Stein Eriksen, another pioneering Scandinavian skier, was someone Berge called his “best ski instructor.” It was at Eriksen’s invitation that Berge traveled to the United States after the Olympics, eventually arriving in Breckenridge. At the time, there wasn’t much happening in the town, which was run down.

According to 5280, Berge told Bill Rounds, a landowner who gave him a job building a lumber yard, that the area should have a ski mountain. Alongside fellow Norwegian skier and childhood friend of Berge’s, Sigurd Rockne, the two went on to found Breckenridge Ski Resort. First called the Peak 8 Ski Area, it opened in December 1961. 

Berge and Rockne devised all the original ski trails and dreamt up Ullr Dag, the still-running winter party at Breckenridge now known as Ullr Fest. Berge also served as the resort’s first ski school director.

Berge was more than an accomplished and influential skier, though.

“To many who knew him, he was a trusted companion, mentor, and friend,” his obituary reads. “He formed lasting friendships across generations whether on chairlifts, in lodges, or around kitchen tables earning a reputation of kindness, warmth, and an easy smile that made people feel welcome.”

Berge is survived by his children, Truls, Rondi, Jan, and Trygve, and his grandchildren, Hana, Konur, Hailey, and Chloe.

His family, Berge’s obituary added, was “the quiet center of his life and his greatest personal joy.”

Related: Photo Gallery: Exploring British Columbia’s Ski Areas “Lost In Time”