Sverre Engen
Encyclopedia
Sverre Engen was a Norwegian-American skier
, ski coach, ski area manager, and film-maker.
, in Buskerud
county, Norway
, the second son of Trond and Martha Oen Engen. He had two brothers, Alf Engen
(1909-1997) and Corey Engen
(1916-2006), both of whom helped expand the sport of skiing in the intermountain U.S. Being the second son of a famous skiing father, Engen was naturally reared to ski. After his father died of the Spanish flu
in 1918, his mother and brothers moved the short distance to small town Steinberg
. At age 18, Sverre and older brother Alf (age 20) emigrated to the United States
in 1929, first settling in Chicago, then relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah
in 1931. Their widowed mother Martha and younger brother Corey
(age 17) emigrated in 1933, joining Alf & Sverre in Utah
.
Sverre Engen brought credit to Utah
as a national ski jumping champion, ski resort operator and consultant, student of avalanche control, and as a pioneer of ski patrol work. His exploits include serving as Alta
ski school director and as the first manager of the then-new Rustler Lodge at Alta, after being the first snow ranger at the resort in 1940. He helped build ski jumps named Ecker Hill, Parleys Canyon; Becker Hill, Ogden Canyon
; and Landes Hill at Alta. Alta's Rustler Lodge was built by Sverre Engen and Howard Stillwell. Opening in 1947, the Rustler Lodge was built on the site where the Alta General Store once stood.
Sverre was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame
in 1971 for his "tremendous contribution to the growth of the sport of skiing." Among his credits is that of being coach of the University of Utah
ski team when it won its first national collegiate championship in 1947. He also produced a series of skiing related films.
The Engen brothers helped to popularize skiing in the West, primarily in Utah
and Idaho
. All three are enshrined in multiple halls of fame, such as the National Ski Hall of Fame
in Ishpeming
. Sverre Engen died in 2001 at the age of 90. His older brother Alf
died at age 88 in 1997, and younger brother Corey
died in 2006 at age 90.
, four miles north of Park City, Utah
. It is composed of more than 300 trophies, medals, uniforms, scrapbooks, skis, boots, photos, films and other collectables that span some 70 years in the career of the Engen family. The museum's educational component gives school children a skiing-based foundation to study subjects such as the water cycle, physics and Utah's colorful history.
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, ski coach, ski area manager, and film-maker.
Biography
Sverre Engen was born in the town of MjøndalenMjøndalen
Mjøndalen is the administrative centre of Nedre Eiker municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva. -History:...
, in Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...
county, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the second son of Trond and Martha Oen Engen. He had two brothers, Alf Engen
Alf Engen
Alf Engen was a Norwegian-American skier and skiing school owner/teacher. Alf Engen set several ski jumping world records during the 1930s.-Background:...
(1909-1997) and Corey Engen
Corey Engen
Corey Engen was the captain of the U.S. Nordic ski team at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He was the youngest of the three Engen brothers that pioneered and popularized alpine skiing in the intermountain west, primarily in Utah and Idaho.-Biography:Corey was a ski jumper...
(1916-2006), both of whom helped expand the sport of skiing in the intermountain U.S. Being the second son of a famous skiing father, Engen was naturally reared to ski. After his father died of the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
in 1918, his mother and brothers moved the short distance to small town Steinberg
Steinberg, Norway
Steinberg is a small village of no more than a few hundred people in Nedre Eiker municipality, Buskerud county, in the Eastern region of Norway. The village lies next to the municipal centre and town of Mjøndalen. The boundaries are few between Mjøndalen and Steinberg although the E134 highway does...
. At age 18, Sverre and older brother Alf (age 20) emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1929, first settling in Chicago, then relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
in 1931. Their widowed mother Martha and younger brother Corey
Corey Engen
Corey Engen was the captain of the U.S. Nordic ski team at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He was the youngest of the three Engen brothers that pioneered and popularized alpine skiing in the intermountain west, primarily in Utah and Idaho.-Biography:Corey was a ski jumper...
(age 17) emigrated in 1933, joining Alf & Sverre in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Sverre Engen brought credit to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
as a national ski jumping champion, ski resort operator and consultant, student of avalanche control, and as a pioneer of ski patrol work. His exploits include serving as Alta
Alta Ski Area
Alta is a ski area located in the Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City, Utah. With a skiable area of 2200 acres , beginning at a base elevation of 8530 ft and rising to 10,550 ft for a vertical gain of 2020 ft . Alta is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country,...
ski school director and as the first manager of the then-new Rustler Lodge at Alta, after being the first snow ranger at the resort in 1940. He helped build ski jumps named Ecker Hill, Parleys Canyon; Becker Hill, Ogden Canyon
Ogden Canyon
thumb|350px|Ogden CanyonOgden Canyon is a canyon near Ogden, Utah, United States.-Geography:Ogden Canyon is an about long canyon with a series of smaller side canyons in the Wasatch Range. It was carved by the long Ogden River...
; and Landes Hill at Alta. Alta's Rustler Lodge was built by Sverre Engen and Howard Stillwell. Opening in 1947, the Rustler Lodge was built on the site where the Alta General Store once stood.
Sverre was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame
National Ski Hall of Fame
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the City of Ishpeming in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States...
in 1971 for his "tremendous contribution to the growth of the sport of skiing." Among his credits is that of being coach of the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
ski team when it won its first national collegiate championship in 1947. He also produced a series of skiing related films.
The Engen brothers helped to popularize skiing in the West, primarily in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. All three are enshrined in multiple halls of fame, such as the National Ski Hall of Fame
National Ski Hall of Fame
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the City of Ishpeming in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States...
in Ishpeming
Ishpeming, Michigan
Ishpeming is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,686 at the 2000 census. This is down from a higher population in the 1950s and 1960s when the economically supportive iron ore mines had a much higher employment level...
. Sverre Engen died in 2001 at the age of 90. His older brother Alf
Alf Engen
Alf Engen was a Norwegian-American skier and skiing school owner/teacher. Alf Engen set several ski jumping world records during the 1930s.-Background:...
died at age 88 in 1997, and younger brother Corey
Corey Engen
Corey Engen was the captain of the U.S. Nordic ski team at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He was the youngest of the three Engen brothers that pioneered and popularized alpine skiing in the intermountain west, primarily in Utah and Idaho.-Biography:Corey was a ski jumper...
died in 2006 at age 90.
Film Listing
- Dancing Skis
- Ski Aces
- Champs at Play
- Ski Fever
- Skiing America
- Ski Time USA
- Ski Spectacular.
Alf Engen Ski Museum
The Alf Engen Ski Museum is located in the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center at Utah Olympic ParkUtah Olympic Park
The Utah Olympic Park is a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and is located east of Salt Lake City near Park City, Utah, United States. During the 2002 games the park hosted the bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, ski jumping, and nordic combined events. It still serves a training...
, four miles north of Park City, Utah
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
. It is composed of more than 300 trophies, medals, uniforms, scrapbooks, skis, boots, photos, films and other collectables that span some 70 years in the career of the Engen family. The museum's educational component gives school children a skiing-based foundation to study subjects such as the water cycle, physics and Utah's colorful history.
Other sources
- Engen, Alan K. First Tracks: A Century of Skiing in Utah (Gibbs Smith, 2001) ISBN 1586850784