In the mid 1980s, Engen began training in an attempt to be selected for the American Olympic team for cross-country skiing, including roller skiing at night.[4] Engen eventually qualified for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.[4] He then competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, before returning to the country of his birth for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.[4] At the masters level, Engen won more than twenty World Cup medals, including twelve golds.[4]
After competing at three Winter Olympics,[5] Engen coached cross-country skiing in Sun Valley,[6] where he started a Nordic skiing programme.[1] Engen was also on the board of the US Ski & Snowboard Association, working for the association for a decade.[1][4] He was inducted into the Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame,[3] and just prior to his death, he was awarded with the Al Merrill Nordic Award for services to Nordic skiing.[1]
Engen died in April 2018 from pancreatic cancer,[4] after being diagnosed with the illness in August 2017.[4] In 2019, the Boulder Mountain Tour was held in his memory.[4][7]
