Trygve Berge - Olympian, Breckenridge co-counder

Trygve Berge, co-founder of Colorado’s Breckenridge Ski Resort and of its first ski school, died on April 3, 2026, after a brief illness. He was 93.

Born in Voss, Norway, Berge grew up skiing and became a certified instructor in Norway’s Professional Ski Instructors Association in Alpine, jumping and cross-country skiing. He attended vocational college in Voss, studying architectural design, wood carving, cabinet making and stone masonry. Upon graduation, he attended the Norwegian Army Officers Training School.

During his racing career, Berge excelled at downhill. He was the 1954 Norwegian downhill champion and won the Holmenkollen combined in Oslo. He was then named to the Norwegian Olympic team and competed at the 1956 Cortina Winter Games. A stylish and daring skier, Berge’s flips off of jumps were featured in several Warren Miller films.

Berge immigrated to the United States with Stein Eriksen in 1956 after the Cortina Games. While skiing in Aspen, he met Bill Rounds of the Summit County Development Corporation. Berge helped persuade Rounds of the potential of developing a ski area in Summit County. Within a few years, Berge and Sigurd Rockne—a fellow Norwegian Olympian and
national ski champion—joined Rounds in founding Breckenridge Ski Resort, which opened in 1961.

The same year, Berge teamed up with Rockne to launch Breckenridge’s first ski school. Among other duties, Berge helped design the ski area and its trail system, and he and Rockne named all of Breckenridge’s original ski runs.

Berge later owned several ski shops in Breckenridge and Denver. He was a member of the 1999 class of the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame.