Information submitted in a nomination letter to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame by Felix Koziol.

A four-event skier, Corey Engen was the NSA Nordic Champion in 1942 and the NSA Veterans’ Alpine Combined Champion in 1959, 1962 and 1969.

Born in Norway on March 30, 1916, Corey Engen reached America in 1933 at age 17. In 1930 he began a ski sport career in Salt Lake City, Utah which brought him fame as a top-ranked competitor and sports builder throughout the United States.

During his ski sport career Corey compiled an impressive record as an athlete and builder of the sport in many ways. As a competitor he won over 200 trophies in alpine and nordic events. These included national championships in both alpine and Nordic competitions. Corey was also an Olympian twice.

Like his Ski Hall of Fame brothers, Alf and Sverre, Corey began his American competitive career as a ski jumper representing the Utah Ski Club. He moved to McCall, Idaho in1937 to become a local ski leader and active competitor in both alpine and Nordic competitions. Corey then went to Ogden, Utah where he was ski school director at Snow Basin from 1945 to 1951 and also served as coach of the Intermountain Ski Association Junior Team.

Corey was named an alternate to the United Sates Ski Jumping Team for the 1940 Olympics which were cancelled because of World War II. He captained the U.S. Olympic Nordic Team for the 1948 competitions at St. Moritz, Switzerland and was the top-placing American – third in combined jumping and twenty-sixth in cross-country.

He returned to McCall in 1951, directed junior ski programs and produced 11 national champions. These champions included his son, David, and some youngsters who went on to U.S. Olympic teams and intercollegiate championship teams.

During his competitive years Corey accomplished what few skiers have – a record of 200 trophies and awards in all events of alpine and Nordic competitions. He won the famous Alta Snow Cup Race in 1945 and 1946, the Veterans’ Class in 1958, the Nordic National Championships in 1952 and the National Veterans’ Alpine Combined Championships in 1959, 1962 and 1969.

Corey handled Junior National Teams for the Pacific Northwest Ski Association during a 20-year coaching career. He was also active on competition committees and as an official in races within the PNSA for many years. His work in 1963 was recognized by an award of the Russell Wilder Memorial by the United States Ski Association for his contributions to junior skiing.

Corey set courses for national race tournaments, both alpine and Nordic. He also officiated during national and international events including: the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California and the Senior Alpine Nationals of 1965 at Crystal Mountain, Washington. He also was a national delegate at Bogus Basin, Idaho in 1969.

In the ski-area development field Corey planned, built and developed Brundage Mountain near McCall and managed it for nine years. He then directed the area ski schools, continued to devote much time to developing junior skiers and remained active as a coach and race official within the PNSA. As a member he also served on various committees of the Pacific Northwest Ski Area Operators’ Association for nine years. His other activities included an 11-year membership on the McCall Hospital Board, director of the McCall Chamber of Commerce and presidency of the McCall Rotary Club.

While Corey Engen’s service to skiing has covered the entire spectrum of the sport for many years, it can be said he has earned his most coveted and distinguished rewards as an outstanding athlete and builder of the sport, especially among junior groups of two generations within the disciplines of the Intermountain Ski Association and the PNSA of the United States Ski Association. He is truly a credit to ski sport as an aggressive competitor with a modest and unassuming personality as well as a high sense of sportsmanship and fair play – qualities which endeared him to the youth of Northwestern America.

Corey Engen was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1973, joining his brothers, Alf and Sverre, as honored members of the hall.