Frozen Dead Guy revisited

Dave Gibson

04/10/2008 - When Bredo Morstol collapsed and drew his last breath while cross-country skiing in his native Norway at the age of 89 years old, he had lived a full life. Probably pondering the possibility of an afterlife from time to time as most of us do, he likely had no delusions of fame or earthly immortality. Bredo was cryogenically frozen by his grandson Trygve first in California and later encased inside a dry ice packed “Tuff Shed” in Nederland. He either cared for his Grandfather deeply to want to bring him back to life or it may have been a case of Bredo being the most convenient body Trygve could obtain for his science project. Regardless, since 1993 “Grandpa” has been the town’s “coolest” resident at a chilling 60 degrees below zero. With Bredo’s daughter Aud and grandson Trygve expired visas and a non-code conforming castle fronting his new home overlooking the reservoir, Bredo found himself alone in his “Tuff Shed.” Beginning in 2002 with the creation of “Frozen Dead Guy Days” his celebrity has grown to the point where he is now an international celebrity.

  Trying to explain “Frozen Dead Guy Days” to the uninitiated is always a challenge. The reactions elicited are almost uniform with my audiences’ crooked eyebrows and shaking of heads. A glazed look overtakes them as they think to themselves; “Is he a lunatic? Is the whole town nuts? Are they all some kind of deranged cultists?” Perhaps most easily attributed to the onset of “cabin fever” and the approaching end of another long winter, it gives mountain people a chance to get outside and rejoice about the best reason at hand with enthusiastic abandon.

  Now that warm temperatures have returned and the hummingbirds are whirring about, most folks don’t pay much mind to Bredo, or he to them. I’d like to think that his resting place would remind him of his Scandinavian homeland. The snow-capped peaks of the Continental Divide shine brightly and the light green aspen leaves quake in the sweet breeze. Boulder Creek runs heavy as the reservoir fills more each day and soon will flow over the dam’s spillway. Indian Paintbrush, False Lupine, Blue Flax, and Columbines have sprouted around the pine tree lined castle. It is the kind of day that I feel Bredo, if he were alive, would take advantage of with a hike. His neighbors across the street tell me that a Red Fox has a den nearby and visits him often. It is the Ravens that he doesn’t like so well when they circle above the shed if his ice isn’t supplemented in a timely manner. This reportedly happened once as Bredo “sweated” it out for a short time.

  Events such as the “Frozen Dead Guy Look-alike Contest”, “Grandpa’s Blue Ball”, or the “Coffin Races” may appear irreverent at first glance. After all, Bredo was a man who walked the planet living his life similar in many ways to our own. To celebrate his death seems impious. Conversely upon further review, I think that “Frozen Dead Guy Days” is as much a celebration of life as it is of death. On Halloween and Day of the Dead we look death squarely in the eye and laugh at it. “Watch out! The boogieman’s gonna get ya!” We mustn’t be afraid during our journey as everyone dies. Without death we wouldn’t be able to appreciate life. In the end, there isn’t anything that you can do about it so it might as well be taken lightly. I hope that Bredo is enjoying the annual parade in our tribute to him and let us celebrate Bredo’s long life as he did.