Jun 14, 2021
Steve Berthel is another one of my favorite mid western Telemark skiers that I’ve met over the years. He grew up primarily in Minnesota where he learned how to ski on the local hills near his house and participated on the local ski team. He also spent many of his winters taking family vacations to Summit County, Colorado where he was able to experience the Rockies. It was during that time that he saw his first Telemark skiers at Monarch Mountain.
Then In 1974 he moved to Michigan. He was working at a local ski shop as a tech, skiing Timber Ridge, and was likely the first telemark skier in his area during that time. He was even told several times at different resorts that this type of skiing was not allowed at their hill for safety reasons and he would have to demonstrate his competency prior to being able to ride the Lifts.
In the late 1980s he started home brewing beer. He did that for a few years and during that time was introduced to Life Tools, a shop in Green Bay Wisconsin that had started a Telemark festival for the Midwest. They asked him to provide beer for the festival Which continued to be a staple for many years after. He became a professional beer brewer in 1996 and even owned his own brewery The Livery in Benton Harbor, Michigan in the mid-2000s.
He currently lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He loves playing pedal steel guitar along with Telemark skiing and every other outdoor activity.