Archives West Finding Aid

Alan Engen (b.1940), the son of Alf Engen, began skiing at the age of two. He attended the University of Utah, where he was a member of the ski team from 1958 to 1962. He graduated with B.A. and B.F.A. degrees in Art History in 1963. In a lifetime of competitive skiing, he has won countless championships. Engen is currently the director of skiing at Alta and chairman/president of the Alf Engen Ski Museum.

Alf Engen (1909-1997) was a Norwegian-American skier, ski instructor and owner. His two younger brothers, Sverre (1911-2001) and Corey (1916-2006), were also both accomplished skiers, and their combined contributions to the development and popularity of skiing in the Western United States were significant.

Engen was born in Mjondallen, Norway, the oldest of three boys. As a son of the famous skier Trond Engen he was reared in skiing from a young age. In 1929,at age twenty, Engen immigrated to the United States with his younger brother, Sverre. They settled in Chicago, where the two brothers joined the American-Norwegian Athletic Club to meet fellow Norwegians. In 1931, he settled permanently in Salt Lake City. His youngest brother, Kaare, and their mother, Martha, immigrated to the United States in 1933 and the three Engen brothers traveled the United States as professional jumpers, breaking Nordic records and gaining recognition wherever they went.

Engen's success as a skier is beyond compare. He began his impressive professional career by capturing the National Jumping Champion title eight times between the years of 1931 and 1946. Furthermore, at the age of 37 and on borrowed skis, he won the 1946 National Jumping title by leaping 259 feet. He was also the National Classic Champion (cross country and jumping combined) twice during these years in 1939 and 1941. After learning how to downhill ski at the age of 30, Engen became national downhill and slalom champion in 1947. Engen was also the recipient of numerous awards including the All-American Ski Trophy, 1937, Americanism Award in 1940, Helm's Hall of Fame Award in 1954; and Skier's Hall of Fame Award in 1956. He is credited for developing the technique of powder skiing, honed at the Alta Ski Area.

He established the Alf Engen Ski School at Alta, Utah, and became director of the Deseret News and Telegram Free Ski School. In 1948, Engen and Walter Prager were co-coaches for the United States Olympic ski team. He assisted in the creation of over 30 various ski resorts in the Western United States, in a lifetime dedicated to the development of the industry.

Alf Engen died in 1997, at the age of 88. His two younger brothers both lived to the age of 90.