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Ski Aces

 File — Folder: 1
Identifier: MSS 9316

Scope and Contents

Contains a DVD titled "Ski Aces," a movie produced by Twentieth Century Fox in 1944. Originally a promotional film for Alta Ski Area in Alta, Utah, it contains the acting of skier Sverre Engen and his brothers.

Dates

  • 1944

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Ski Aces must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical History

Sverre Engen (1911-2001) was a Norwegian-American skier, ski coach, and film maker.

Sverre Engen was born in Mjøndalen, Norway, to famous skier Trond Sorli Engen, and thus grew up skiing his whole life. In 1918, his father, Trond, died of the Spanish Flu, causing Sverre and his family to move. When Sverre was 18, he immigrated to the United States, first to Chicago then to Salt Lake City, Utah. There he continued to ski, becoming national ski jump champion, ski resort operator, and a pioneer of ski patrol work. He was the first snow ranger in America.

Because of his extensive work and success coaching ski teams and producing ski-related films, the sport was greatly popularized in Utah and Idaho during his life. For all these contributions, he was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1971. At the age of 90, in 2001, Sverre died in Sandy, Utah.

Administrative History

Alta Ski Area (1939) is a ski area in the Western United States, located in Alta, Utah.

Alta Ski Area is one of the oldest ski areas in the United States. In 1935, the U.S. Forest Service had notable skiier Alf Engen scout out the upper part of Little Cottonwood Canyon, where the near-abandoned mining community of Alta was located, to determine its potential for a new skiing area. Having found favorable conditions, Alta was started in 1939 with one chairlift.

Since its beginning, the area has grown to include several hundred more acres of skiable land, as well as several chairlifts providing greater access to the slopes. Today, Alta Ski Area is known for its abundant snowfall and for being one of only three ski areas in the country to completely prohibit snowboarding.

Administrative History

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1935-) is one of the largest motion picture production companies in the world.

In 1935, the Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures merged to establish Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The corporation pioneered many new film techniques and produced several record-breaking movies. In the 1950s, with the advent of television threatening a large part of the motion picture business, Fox turned to many new, innovative methods of production and projection.

However, with revenue slumping decades later, 20th Century Fox was purchased first by Marvin H. Davis and Martin Rich in 1981, then again in 1985, by media mogul Rupurt Murdoch's News Corporation, under which it operated as a subsidiary. In 2019, 20th Century Fox, as well as the rest of 21st Century Fox, was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, and now operates there as a subsidiary.

Extent

1 folder (0.05 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Custodial History

Donated to curator, John Murphy.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated.

Appraisal

Utah and the American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy II.B.5.VI.)

Existence and Location of Copies

M-Disk containing digitized material included in folder 1.

General

Collection title is formal title on DVD.

Processing Information

Processed; Andy VanDomelen, student processor, and John Murphy, curator; 2019.

Title
Register of Ski Aces
Status
In Progress
Author
Andrew VanDomelen
Date
2019 August 1
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States