Frozen Dead Guy Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Grandpa Bredo? Bredo Morstoel (pronounced “Bread-dough More-stul”) was a Director of Parks and Recreation in Baerum County, Norway for over 30 years. He was born in Isfjorden, Romstel in western Norway on February 28, 1900. His marriage to Anna in the 1920’s created a family with two children. After his retirement in 1967, Bredo enjoyed his hobbies of painting, fishing, cross-country skiing, and hiking in the mountains. His daughter Aud rescued him with CPR after a heart attack in 1975, but he eventually died of heart failure during a nap at the family’s mountain retreat in Norway on November 6, 1989. Is he really dead? Yes. His heart stopped. He was deceased long before he was frozen for cryonic storage. Who froze him and why? Bredo’s grandson Trygve Bauge believes in cryonics. This is the science of using ultra-cold temperatures to preserve human life. It is a speculative technology that presumes medicine will someday be able to cure the disease that caused the death of the person who was frozen. At this time, technology and medicine have not advanced to the stage of determining how to reanimate the frozen bodies or how to heal them. How was he frozen? Grandpa was originally packed in dry ice at an undertaker’s in Norway, then shipped to the Trans Time facility in Oakland, California, where he moved from dry ice to the superior liquid nitrogen for nearly four years. He now rests in his original steel coffin, which is packed tightly in dry ice in an insulated wooden box stored in a Tuff Shed above Nederland, Colorado. Did Grandpa Bredo want this? No one knows. He died before Trygve could discuss it with him. Both Trygve and his mother, Grandpa Bredo’s daughter Aud, plan to be placed in cryonic suspension after their deaths. Who takes care of him? “The Ice Man” is Bo Shaffer of Delta Technogroup, Inc. He has been packing Bredo in dry ice since 1995. Every 4-5 weeks, Bo drives to Denver and hauls nearly a ton of dry ice up to the shed in Nederland. He takes his responsibility very seriously. Even though Grandpa was once dead, he is now considered to be in suspended animation, giving him the possibility that he may someday live again. This places The Ice Man in the precarious position of protecting Bredo’s opportunity for reanimation. Who pays for this? Bredo’s daughter Aud Morstoel and grandson Trygve Bauge have invested significant sums to maintain Grandpa. They are grateful for the donated Tuff Shed set up by volunteers in 1995 in response to publicity from FOX Radio and for other volunteer work provided by individuals locally. The ice and its delivery cost them over $700 a month. This is in addition to maintaining the property, the shed, and the accompanying disaster-proof house with their magnificent views of the Continental Divide. How long has he been here? Grandpa Bredo moved to Nederland from a cryonics facility in California in December, 1993. Isn’t that illegal? When Town officials learned of the situation in 1994, they passed an emergency ordinance to make it illegal to keep dead human or animal bodies or parts on one’s property. Laws can’t be passed after the fact, so Bredo was “grandfathered” in. Why is Grandpa in Nederland? His grandson Trygve lived in Boulder since 1980 and his family had driven through Nederland (with Grandpa) in 1982. Trygve and his mother Aud bought the property in Nederland in the early 1990’s with a vision to build a cryonics facility to serve numerous clients. Shortly after moving Grandpa to the metal shed (the first phase of what was to be a multi-unit underground facility) in December of 1993, Trygve was deported back to Norway due to an expired visa and his mother Aud was evicted from the house which had no plumbing or electricity. Also on an expired visa, Aud returned to her homeland, leaving Grandpa in the shed. Why is there a Frozen Dead Guy Days® Festival? The Town of Nederland was swarmed with international attention when the news of Grandpa was first revealed in 1994. News media from around the world descended on the tiny town to follow the unfolding story of how the Grandpa situation would be resolved. It put Nederland on the map. The flurry of activity subsided, and eight years later, in 2002, the Nederland Area Chamber of Commerce decided it was time to reanimate the story of Grandpa and help its downtown enjoy a lively weekend in the quiet months of winter. Grandson Trygve calls it “Cryonics’ First Mardi Gras”. The international attention has resumed as major media from around the world cover this unique winter festival each year.

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