Erikson’s many accomplishments in competitive alpine skiing include winning Olympic gold in giant slalom and silver in slalom at the Oslo Games in 1952. And in 1954, he was the first alpine skier to win triple gold at the world championships. Shortly thereafter, Eriksen’s inimitable style and captivating personality garnered him the attention of the news media and friendship of the Hollywood elite. His status was enhanced by his spectacular forward somersault, an aerial maneuver credited as the forerunner of the inverted aerials performed by freestyle skiers today.

A native of Norway, Eriksen lived in the United States for the last 60 years. Following his competitive skiing career, he headed up the ski schools at numerous mountain resorts, including Boyne Mountain, Mich., Sugarbush, Vt., Heavenly Valley, Calif., Snowmass, Colo., Aspen, and finally Deer Valley, where he was the director of skiing for more than 35 years.

In addition to sharing his knowledge of skiing with thousands of people throughout his career, Eriksen successfully developed the luxury Stein Eriksen Lodge at Deer Valley Resort, which has been recognized as “The world’s best ski hotel.”

Eriksen was inducted into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) Hall of Fame in 2013. In April 2015, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Utah Sports Commission. Eriksen was also awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Ski Tourism by World Ski Awards in 2015.

Eriksen is survived by his wife of 35 years, Francoise, son Bjorn, daughters Julianna, Ava, and Anja, and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by son Stein Jr.