Grandpa Bredo is over 120 years old. For years, he was the resident of a Tuff Shed in the hills above Nederland, Colorado, just 40 miles south of Estes Park, where he remained very, very, very cold. These days, Grandpa is still frozen in a state of suspended animation, awaiting the big thaw. The one that will bring him back to life.

There is a good story behind this, one that stretches from Norway to California to Colorado, involving cryonics, deportation, psychics, celebrations, a dedicated Ice Man and a cryonics rescue mission. It’s a tale that has captured international attention and sparked a must-attend annual event called Frozen Dead Guy Days.

So how did all of this begin… and more importantly (particularly for Grandpa Bredo), how long will it last?

Before Grandpa Bredo Morstoel died from a heart condition in 1989, he enjoyed a comfortable life in Norway, where he was born and raised. He loved painting, fishing, skiing, and hiking in the mountains of his homeland. He was also the director of parks and recreation in Norway’s Baerum County for more than 30 years.

After he died, things got really interesting. Instead of a burial, he was packed in dry ice and prepared for international travel. First, he was shipped to the Trans Time cryonics facility in Oakland, California, where he was placed in liquid nitrogen for almost four years. Then, he was moved to Colorado in 1993 to stay with his daughter Aud Morstoel and his grandson Trygve Bauge, both strong advocates for cryonics who hoped to start a facility of their own.

There he stayed for years under cold cover, in a shed, near his grandson’s home, and about to be left on his own due to some pesky visa issues.

If you peruse the laws of Nederland, you’ll discover that it’s illegal to store a frozen human or animal (or any body part thereof) in your home. We have Grandpa Bredo to thank for this. When grandson Trygve was deported in the mid-90s because of an expired visa, Bredo’s daughter stepped in to take care of the household – including keeping her father on ice.

Soon, Aud was evicted for living in a house with no electricity or plumbing and was about to head back to Norway. This meant that the family’s fledgling cryonics facility was destined to come to a halt. Worried that her father would thaw out before his time, she spoke to a local reporter, who spoke to the Nederland city council, who passed Section 7-34 of the municipal code regarding the “keeping of bodies.”

Luckily for Bredo, he was grandfathered in and allowed to stay. Suddenly, he was a worldwide media sensation. And he was well cared for by his family and the Nederland community for decades.

In August 2023, it was time for Grandpa to get an upgrade. With his grandson’s permission, Grandpa Bredo was moved by a team from Alcor, driven to The Stanley Hotel’s old ice house in Estes Park, where he was submerged head-first in liquid nitrogen. His home is now the world’s only museum dedicated to the science of cryonics.