Born in Norway as Kåre Engen, Corey Engen emigrated to the US in 1933, with his two brothers and their widowed mother. As a skier he won over 22 US championships in various distances and events. With his brothers, he helped popularize skiing in Idaho and Utah. Corey Engen taught skiing at Sun Valley in the 1950s and in 1961 helped develop and manage the Brundage Mountain Ski Resort in McCall, Idaho. He later taught skiing at Snowbasin, near Ogden, Utah, where he also coached the Weber State ski team.