BIOGRAPHY
Home schooler Mark Engel has always been focused on skiing and it's showed in his rapid rise into the U.S. Ski Team fold. Most athletes enter the pipeline with the U.S. Development Team. After a few successful seasons with coach Guenther Birgmann, training at Treble Cone Race Academy (TCRA) in the summer and Sugar Bowl Academy in the winter, and winning back-to-back Western Region overall titles in 2010 and '11, Engel dove directly into the C Team ranks in 2011. He was with the C team from 2011-2013, but was hampered by back issues and did not qualify for the 2013/14 Team. From there, he put in the work and had another successful summer with TCRA before attending University of Utah and winning the NCAA title in GS before he qualified for the 2014/15 Team once again.

FIRST TRACKS
Dad had Engel on skis at age 2 and by 7 he was in the Alpine Meadows club program then directly into the Sugar Bowl Academy team by 11. Being one member of a family of skiers was helpful too. His older brother was a serious freeskier and older sister was a serious racer until college, but stopped racing to focus on becoming a nurse.

OFF THE SNOW
Mark is a hugely talented musician, and not only started playing gigs in Salt Lake City last summer, but also got signed to a record label called Sweet Salt Records. Along with signing with Sweet Salt Records, he released an album. He loves and lives for music and plays guitar, violin and banjo, "More than covering any band, I love to just play with friends and just make stuff up." Also very worthy of mention is that Mark is now the proud owner of a PT Cruiser, which—Brennan Rubie would like to note—cost less than Brennan's new bike. Rad.