Alf Engen

Alf Marinius Engen (May 15, 1909–July 20, 1997) was a Norwegian-American skier. He set several ski jumping world records during the 1930s and helped establish numerous ski areas in the western United States. Engen is best known for his ski school at Alta in Utah and as the pioneer of powder skiing.

Background

Born in Norway in the town of Mjøndalen, in Nedre Eiker municipality in Buskerud county, Engen was the first son of Trond and Martha Oen Engen. His two younger brothers, Sverre (1911–2001) and Corey (1916–2006), were also accomplished skiers. As the first-born son of a famous skiing father, Engen was naturally reared to ski. After his father died of the Spanish flu in 1918 when he was 9, Engen's mother moved the family the short distance to the small town of Steinberg. In 1929 at age 20, Alf and his brother Sverre (age 18) emigrated to the United States, first settling in Chicago, then relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1931. Their widowed mother Martha and younger brother Corey (age 17) joined them in 1933.