Kristian Berg was born on March 29, 1925, to Peder Ludvig and Anette Ellingsdtr Berg in Rissa, Norway. The firstborn, he was followed by three brothers, Erling, Jarle, and Asbjørn, and his cousin Kaare, born five months earlier, was like a brother to all four. He grew up on the family farm with his brothers, parents, and grandparents and was surrounded by many aunts and uncles.
At the time, schooling only went to 7th grade. He was 14. On April 9, 1940, eleven days after his 15th birthday, the Nazi occupation of Norway began. His dad placed Kristian in charge of running the farm, doing everything right down to shoeing the horses so he could take jobs off the farm. Leading up to 1940, his dad had studied books to learn how to build a sophisticated grain mill down in a deep gully on the farm. Kristian took great interest in the mill. When the Nazis occupied, they ordered the Berg farm to turn over to them all grain from the family’s mill. After that, his dad could no longer keep running the mill at the risk of consequences and gave his permission to Kristian to run it, but only if he wanted to, saying, “…just don’t get caught.” In addition to running the farm alongside his mother, running the mill became Kristian’s mission throughout the occupation. He loved it, and he loved that he evaded getting caught under the cover of darkness. It became a great source of pride and accomplishment as neighbors secretly brought their grains to him to mill into flour. He spoke often of that experience.
After the war, he served mandatory military service in the Norwegian Air Force and was assigned to aircraft maintenance. Upon completing service, he returned to live and work on the farm while also attending carpentry trade school. Then, at age 23, he and Kaare immigrated to America on October 5, 1948, sponsored by an uncle who preceded them. He hit the ground running, first working for his two uncles and then building single-family homes on his own. Eventually, he became a general contractor building apartments, even then continuing to build homes on the weekends in the early years to try to get ahead. Once his company Haffel Construction Co. was established, he invited his brother Jarle and his family to America, and over time, Jarle joined him in the business, and they partnered together until retirement.
Kristian loved music and was an avid dancer. He met Patricia Ann Rudstrom at a dance. They married on December 6, 1952, eventually settling outside of Innis Arden in the home he built. They were married for 48 years and had two daughters. For many decades, he was a member of the Norwegian Male Chorus, where his close friend August Werner was the director, Sons of Norway, and Leif Erikson Lodge. He was instrumental in building the Pavilion at Lake McMurray. He and the architect drew the idea on a napkin over drinks at Norway Center, and he participated in the actual build. He held a life membership in the Norwegian Commercial Club and attended meetings until he was 97.
Throughout his life, he enjoyed visits to the home he built in 1970 on the family farm in Norway, whether in the summer, fall moose hunting season, or pit stops in and out of Europe during ski racing season. Having received his first pair of homemade skis at age 6, he was passionate about skiing. His childhood dream was to compete in the Olympics as a ski jumper. He had never seen slalom, giant slalom, or gates until he came to America.
Once in America, Stevens Pass became his ski ‘home,’ where he enjoyed the wonderful community of skiers. Gradually, he became a passionate, fearless, and winning ski racer in his age bracket, entering his first race at Stevens Pass at age 45, finishing 6th in a field of 19. From there, he was encouraged by his friend Franz Gabl, 1948 Olympic silver medalist, to go to Alaska for the 1974 U.S. Championships, where he finished third. He journeyed to more national races, including Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1975 for the International Veterans Championship. He eventually built a home there and was a longtime member of Ancient Skiers.
In 1979, he got hooked on international competition when he entered a European Cup Masters race at Lake Tahoe and discovered, to his surprise, that he could keep up with skiers who had been racing most of their lives. From there, he entered an international meet in Italy and found the ski community in Europe so kind and welcoming that he decided to give the European circuit a try. So in 1980, as the newly formed Super 40 Circuit World Cup was launching its inaugural competition, he entered and took home the first place cup. One Frenchman, finishing second to Kristian, asked him, “Weren’t you in the 1952 Olympics in Oslo?” to which he replied, “No, I did not begin racing until a long time after that,” to which the Frenchman walked away shaking his head.
Kristian was known to beat competitors 35 years his junior as well as defeating former Olympic Games medalists and aging international stars. He was featured in many write-ups, including Seattle Times columnist Don Duncan, who came to his home in 1984 to interview for a piece titled “Life Need Not Go Downhill.” For over 25 years, from 1980 through the early 2000s, December through April, he competed in the Super 40 Circuit, which took him to Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Andorra. One day in Spain, he and two fellow racers were invited by an instructor to join a private ski lesson with King Juan Carlos of Spain. He continued racing in the U.S. as well.
As much as it was about ski racing, he said that he met so many fine people and the friendships amongst the racers were something special, adding, “I’ve never had this much fun.” His last ski race was in 2010 in Sun Valley, Idaho, during the annual Ancient Skiers. He was 85. His home is filled with racing medals and trophies. He sometimes wondered how he would have done in the Olympics.
In 2016, he introduced his plan to have a 3.6km stretch of dirt road paved in his small community in Norway. He had grown tired that nothing had been done about it since childhood, so he decided to do it himself. Word soon leaked, and the community was surprised and excited. Eventually, the government of Norway learned about it, offering to add to his contribution in order to pave a remaining 1.9km stretch that would connect his portion to the highway at the opposite end, completing the circle. A meeting was held in Trondheim with the regional, county, and public roads administration officials over waffles, gjetost, and coffee. The plan came to pass for the community, followed by a ribbon-cutting celebration with the community, dignitaries, media, and great fun. The road was renamed Kristian P Bergsvei.
Life continued, and his final day of skiing was March 8, 2020, at Stevens Pass, only because later that week, he learned they had closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kristian remained fit and healthy and hoped to return to skiing after the pandemic, but driving longer distances proved more difficult. He spent his final years attending dances and spending time with his longtime close companion and true friend, Hanna Risa of Edmonds. He continued to be an avid walker in his neighborhood of Richmond Beach, where he lived for 45 years, walking 2 miles, 3-4 times weekly, visiting with neighbors along the way.
In 2022, he broke his hip and fully recovered, to everyone’s surprise, including his doctors. His last wish was to reacquire his Norwegian citizenship as a dual citizen, so in September 2023, he traveled to Norway with the help of his family to submit his documents in person, visit family and friends, and see the farm and his home one last time. In October 2023, he received notification of Norwegian citizenship granted; seven weeks later, on December 14, 2023, he passed away in his home.
He is greatly missed and leaves behind his daughters Inger Kristine Keigher (Peter) and Linda Anette Gorman (Tim), granddaughter Kathryn Rachael Tongg (Rory), grandson Kristian James Gorman (Ashley), grandson Landon Berg Gorman, and five great-grandchildren: Taber, Titan, and Truitt (Tongg), Elin, and Kaja (Gorman).
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at First Lutheran Church of Bothell on May 8th at 3:00pm, followed by food and refreshments.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made in his name to the Rotarun Ski Area- The “little mountain with a big heart,” a non-profit community-driven ski hill in Hailey, Idaho, providing locals, children, and the disadvantaged with affordable access to winter sports. Visit www.rotarun.org and click the ‘Donate’ button or mail donations to Rotarun, P.O. Box 2083, Hailey, Idaho 83333.