The 60-Second Version
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Norway –
Bredo Morstøl ran the parks in Bærum, Norway, for more than 30 years and loved painting, fishing, skiing and mountain hikes.
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California –
When he died in 1989, his family chose cryonics. He spent almost four years in liquid nitrogen at a cryonics facility in Oakland.
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Colorado –
He moved to Colorado to be near his family, and for three decades family and devoted caretakers kept him very, very cold.
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Estes Park
In August 2023, with his grandson's permission, a team from Alcor moved him to The Stanley Hotel's historic ice house, where he rests in liquid nitrogen.
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Every spring
So every spring, we throw him a party.
The Whole Story
30 Years on Ice
Grandpa Bredo is over 120 years old, and he remains very, very, very cold, frozen in a state of suspended animation and awaiting the big thaw his family hoped would one day bring him back.
Norway to Colorado
Before Grandpa Bredo Morstøl died from a heart condition in 1989, he enjoyed a comfortable life in Norway, where he was born and raised. After he died, instead of a burial, he was packed in dry ice and prepared for international travel.
He spent almost four years in liquid nitrogen at the Trans Time cryonics facility in Oakland, California. In 1993 he moved to Colorado to stay near his daughter Aud Morstøl and his grandson Trygve Bauge, both strong advocates for cryonics who hoped to start a facility of their own.
Decades of Care
For years he rested in a Tuff Shed in the hills above Nederland, Colorado, about 40 miles south of Estes Park. When visa issues sent his grandson home to Norway in the mid-1990s, his daughter stepped in to keep her father on ice. When word got out, the story went around the world. A local rule on the keeping of bodies followed, and Grandpa Bredo was grandfathered in. He was cared for by his family, devoted caretakers and the community for decades.
In August 2023, it was time for an upgrade. With his grandson's permission, a team from Alcor moved him to The Stanley Hotel's historic ice house in Estes Park, where he rests in liquid nitrogen at about −320°F.
Why We Celebrate
Frozen Dead Guy Days treats Grandpa Bredo as its guest of honor. Before his new home at the Stanley opened to visitors, the hotel's then-owner traveled to Norway to ask the family's blessing, and Alcor has said that exhibiting him helps teach the public, gently and with some fun, about death and organ donation (Smithsonian, 2024 ). The joke is always on the living: the costumes, the coffins and a whole town dressed for the cold. Never on him.
Visit Grandpa Bredo
The Frozen Dead Guy Tour at The Stanley Hotel: about 40 minutes · $20 per person · ages 12+ · up to 12 people per tour (per stanleyhotel.com, September 2026).
Every spring, we throw him a party. He has never once complained about the music.
