Park

This caricature of Bredo Morstoel, whose body is frozen on dry ice in a state of suspended animation in a nearby shed, adorns various buildings and Tshirts around Nederland./

Bauge is in Norway now, but in the 1980s, he lived in Boulder. He was, and still is, an ardent believer in cryonics — the practice of freezing people’s bodies at extremely low temperatures with the idea that science will someday find a way to revive them.

When Morstoel died in 1989, Bauge immediately flew home to Norway and had his grandfather’s body frozen. It was transported to an institute in California for several years, and when that didn’t work out, Bauge had it moved to Nederland. Morstoel’s remains are still there in a metal box, under ice, in a Tuff Shed with a small Norwegian flag hanging from the rafters.

But Bauge isn’t in Colorado to take care of Morstoel’s remains. His visa expired, and he was deported in 1994. Since then, several caretakers have tended to the body, including Brad Wickham, who took on the job 10 years ago and now makes two trips a month to the site to keep Morstoel’s remains covered in dry ice.

“Every two weeks, I have to go down to Denver to a distributor and pick up the dry ice. It’s usually 900 to 1,200 pounds, and that’s all year long. I’m wired money from Norway by his grandson, Trygve, to move the ice, and that’s what I do,” he said.

Bauge oversees the whole operation from afar. Even current cryonic practices are controversial, but he theorizes that someday science will advance to a point where scientists can create his grandfather’s younger genetic twin.

Still, Bauge admits the situation isn’t the best.

“Of course, he wasn’t stored under ideal circumstances compared to what we will be able to do 100 years from now, but you have to start where you are, and you have to improve from there, step by step. We live in a real world, not a fantasy world,” he said.

While science develops, Bredo Morstoel’s story remains a legend. Ultimately, the Nederland festival became a victim of its own success, and it would have been canceled this year if it hadn’t moved to Estes Park.

That move was the brainchild of John Cullen, the president of the city’s historic, but eerie, Stanley Hotel, which inspired Stephen King’s horror novel, “The Shining,” and the movie and TV series that followed.

Cullen sees a connection between the Stanley’s otherworldly reputation and the story behind the frozen dead guy, and the festival isn’t the only thing he might move. There’s a historic ice house on the Stanley property, and Cullen is talking to a nonprofit foundation that specializes in cryonics about leasing that space.

Potentially, the body could then be moved to the ice house, where the foundation would maintain it in its frozen state and create a cryonics museum.

Cullen says he thinks the hotel’s zoning would accommodate that kind of move, but he plans to work closely with regulators and the public before there’s a final plan.

In the meantime, Wickham will continue delivering the ice every couple of weeks, and he said he’ll be a little sad when that ends.

“After awhile, you feel like part of the family,” he said, “to the point where I’m almost going to probably have some stages of grief once this is over.”

For more from Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org ■ is Monday at noon. To submit an item,

Thursday16

Bingo Night, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Bike Durango’s En Masse Group Ride, 5:30 p.m., meet at Durango Cyclery, 143 E. 13th St. Ride to Zia’s north, rain, snow or shine.

HER Story: An Evening of Storytelling, part of Women’s History Month, 5:30 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

River Spell plays, 6 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio.

Ecstatic Dance, 6:30-8:30 p.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Float Like a Buffalo, Apollo Suns and The Buzz play, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre.

Merely Players present “The Lifespan of a Fact,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center.

Friday17

St. Patrick’s Day/Spring Break Festival, runs thru March 19, American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave. Full lineup of events at durangoamericanlegion.org

Chapfest, three days of competition and celebration at Chapman Hill, info at thehivedgo.org

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave.

Sitting with Peace Meditation, 12 noon, Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

St. Patrick’s Day Snowboard Giveaway, 3 p.m., The Bear Bar at Purgatory Resort.

Fanny Pack Friday, 3 p.m., The Nugget Mountain Bar, 48721 Highway 550.

St. Patrick’s Day Party, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

The Kitchen Jam Band plays, 5 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main Ave.

Larry Carver & Jack Ellis play, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Grant Livingston Band plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Chris Murray plays, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Ru Paul’s Drag Race Watch Party, 6 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Desiderata plays, 7 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Merely Players present “The Lifespan of a Fact,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Ben Gibson Band plays, 7-10 p.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Haro in the Dark plays, 7 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.

Reefer Madness, The Musical, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Hip Hop is Dead plays, 8 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Drag Show, 8:30 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Saturday18

St. Patrick’s Day/Spring Break Festival, runs thru March 19, American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave. Full lineup of events at durangoamericanlegion.org

Chapfest, three days of competition and celebration at Chapman Hill, info at thehivedgo.org.

The Metropolitan Opera – Live in HD –Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” 10:55 a.m., FLC’s Vallecito Room.

Mancos Melt Putt Putt Tournament, 12 noon, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Snow Science & Social, 1 p.m., Andrews Lake winter parking lot.

The Lost Boys String Band plays, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

River Spell plays, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Merely Players present “The Lifespan of a Fact,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Reefer Madness, The Musical, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Silent Disco w/DJ Squoze, 9-11:30 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Sunday19

St. Patrick’s Day/Spring Break Festival, American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave. Full lineup of events at durangoamericanlegion.org

Chapfest, three days of competition and celebration at Chapman Hill, info at thehivedgo.org.

Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

Feed the People! free mutual aid meal & winter gear drive for homeless community members, every Sunday, 2 p.m., Buckley Park.

Merely Players present “The Lifespan of a Fact,” 2 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Open Mic, 4 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Reefer Madness, The Musical, 5 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Monday20

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic, 6 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.