FRANCONIA, New Hampshire — The New England Ski Museum will present its Spirit of Skiing award to Stein Eriksen at Sugarbush Resort in Warren, VT at the Museum’s annual meeting on November 17, 2007. The award is intended to recognize a person whose life exemplifies the memorable adage that ‘skiing is not just a sport, it is a way of life’, and who has influenced skiing in a positive manner and enabled others to benefit from the sport. After dinner Eriksen will speak on his career in skiing, which extends back into his youth, when his parents Marius and Birgit Eriksen manufactured and sold Eriksen skis in Norway.

Stein Eriksen’s graceful, acrobatic style of skiing defined elegance on snow for the generation of skiers who were active in the 1950s and 1960s, just as the sport was enjoying a burst of popularity and development. After coming to prominence in the 1952 Olympics with a gold medal run in giant slalom and a silver in slalom, Stein moved from his native Norway to the US, where he operated ski schools at Boyne Mountain, Heavenly Valley, Sugarbush, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Park City, before settling in at Deer Valley, where he remains today as Director of Skiing.

While Eriksen will be returning to the scene of an earlier stage of his life, the Sugarbush he will find is much changed since his years there in the mid 1960s. Though his signature Stein’s Run is still a popular test piece for expert skiers, the Lincoln Peak base area has recently undergone an almost total transformation, with construction of the new Clay Brook hotel and condominiums, Timbers Restaurant, and a new Gate House day lodge, all built in a style that evokes classic Vermont architecture. The resort, which opened on Christmas Day in 1958, will begin a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary this season that will culminate with a 50th birthday party in December 2008.

The Gate House will be the site of the Museum’s annual meeting and dinner. The Museum holds a mercifully brief business meeting in which new officers are elected, normally not more than ten minutes in length, then adjourns for dinner and the award presentation. This meeting will mark the end of Glenn Parkinson’s 10-year term as President of the Museum. Parkinson, now of Freeport, ME, grew up in the valley that surrounds Sugarbush and will take his official leave of office on his home turf. Taking over the Museum’s top spot will be Bo Adams of Rochester, NH, whose ski history qualifications stretch back to his grandfather Carl Shumway, who was among the first party to ski in Tuckerman Ravine in 1913.

The event is open to the public, though space is limited. The cost of the dinner is $60 per person, and reservations are made through the New England Ski Museum by calling 800-639-4181. Lodging accommodations may be made through Sugarbush Resort at 800-53-SUGAR.

About the New England Ski Museum
Located in Franconia Notch NH next to the Cannon Mountain Tramway, the Museum is a non-profit, member-supported museum dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting aspects of ski history. The Museum is open from 10 AM to 5 PM seven days a week from Memorial Day through the end of March. Admission is free. For more information call 800-639-4181 or visit www.skimuseum.org.