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Martin Halloway
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Martin Hollay
CENTENARIAN RECALLS A LIFE ON SKIS
Adiminutive fit man with a mischievous grin and a shock of wavy gray hair carefully leans his skis against the garage wall, satisfied that he once again achieved 100 days on the slopes. While 100 days on the slopes is not all that unusual for a Tahoe local, this isn’t just any man; he is a centenarian, 101 years old, to be exact. Martin Hollay has spent the equivalent of several lifetimes’ worth of schussing on the slopes.
Hollay, a Hungarian immigrant, has lived a life filled with disparate and life-threatening experiences and his nine decades on skis would easily make for a riveting biographical movie. Asked about his longevity and event-filled life, he quips with humility and gratitude, “I was so lucky.”
As a boy in his native country, he apprenticed as a glove maker, a skill he would
practice throughout his life. Given a pair of wooden skis as a Boy Scout, he spent his idyllic youth hiking up snow-covered hills, skiing down and learning to sail. “I was so lucky.”
As World War II engulfed his homeland, he volunteered in the Hungarian Air Force and crewed planes bombing Russian targets. German takeover resulted in conscription into the Luftwaffe as a bomber crew member; he survived many more harrowing missions. “I was so lucky.”
As the allies surged across Europe, Americans took him as a prisoner of war in 1945. It was during his one year in captivity that he had contact with his American guards. The kindness and respect shown by the American GIs allowed him to survive the harsh conditions in the POW camps and convinced him to go to America. “I was so lucky.”
The 1956 brutal Soviet takeover of Hungary prompted him and his young family to make a daring escape from communism. Traveling by the dark of night, they safely made the perilous journey to Austria and freedom. With the help of American social organizations and sponsorship by relatives, the refugees flew to their new life in the U.S. “I was so lucky.”
The Hollays settled in Los Angeles, where Hollay resumed his glove-making vocation. On New Year’s Eve, 1957, he made his first trip to Lake Tahoe to compete in the California Cross-country Ski Championships, where he placed first. Hol-
BY DAVID ANTONUCCI
ABOVE: Palisades Tahoe and The Sierra Nevada Olympic & Winter (SNOW) Sports Museum recently honored ski legend Martin Hollay, center, for his many contributions to the ski industry. | Brandon Skinner, Palisades Tahoe
LEFT: Martin Hollay working as a ski patroller at Heavenly in 1977. | Courtesy Hollay Family Anthony Cupaiuolo | TAMBA
lay later completed the Annual Snowshoe Thompson race from Twin Bridges to the base of Heavenly Mountain Resort and took second place. Sitting on a Heavenly chairlift, he asked himself, “Martin, what are you doing in LA?”
By chance, he met Heavenly Ski School Director Stein Erikson and told him he wanted to work at Heavenly. Erikson told him he had a job anytime he liked it, and in August 1958, he moved to South Lake Tahoe. “I was so lucky.”
Hollay joined the local ski club and at a club meeting, Willy Schaeffler, the director of Skiing Events for the 1960 Winter Olympics, appeared. Schaeffler was looking for employees and volunteers to help stage the Games. Hollay, a cross-country skier, was hired on the spot and began work in January 1959. Initially helping to cut the downhill courses in Olympic Valley, he spent most of his time helping construct McKinney Creek Stadium and competition trails for the cross-country and biathlon events. He built bridges, cut racecourses, created three shooting ranges, constructed buildings, erected bleachers and shaped flagpoles from lodgepole pines that would fly the flags of participating nations.
During the Games, he towed a powered tiller uniquely invented to groom the trail surfaces. He witnessed the racing of such Olympic Nordic skiing greats as Viekko Hakulinen, the most decorated athlete at these Games, and Sixten Jernberg, the Swedish ace with several Olympic medals. Afterward, Hollay and his crew removed the temporary facilities and returned the land to its owners. He salvaged and recycled the materials for use in building additions to his home in South Lake Tahoe. “I was so lucky.”
Following the Olympic Games, Hollay returned to his regular job at Harvey’s Casino until 1965. In that year, Heavenly invited him to join the professional ski patrol. He eventually became the leader of Heavenly Ski Patrol and served until his ski patrol retirement in 1977. Not one to sit around, he continued as part of the trail crew for another 12 years, where he oversaw new trail and ski-lift construction.
At age 65, he officially retired from Heavenly but not from skiing. Heavenly presented a lifetime ski pass at a lavish retirement party and Heavenly President Bill Killebrew bestowed him with a $50,000 retirement benefit. “I was so lucky.”
We started this article with Hollay putting up his skis after 100 days on the snow, but it’s not what you think. The spry centenarian doesn’t ski downhill anymore; he skis uphill on the Roundabout Trail nearly every day and takes the Heavenly Tram down. Currently, Hollay is taking a break from his routine to deal with a medical challenge and hopes to resume his frequent up-skis soon. Except for a daily visit from his daughter Cezi, Hollay still lives independently in the South Lake Tahoe house he built and remains an active and vital inspiration for all of us.n Email news to editor@tahoethisweek.com
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TAMBA trail fundraiser launched
Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association has launched a month-long fundraiser called the [Re]Build the Future: December Donor Drive to motivate support of efforts to rebuild and restore trails impacted by the recent Caldor Fire. Funds raised before the end of the year will allow the nonprofit to address these challenges as they continue developing 50 miles of multi-use trail basin-wide, according to a press release.
The Caldor Fire burned roughly 20 miles of multi-use trail in the Tahoe Basin that TAMBA maintains and helped build. tamba.org
Ty Dayberry | Brian Walker
Pro teleskier Ty Dayberry of South Lake Tahoe has released “Future Freeheel II,” filmed during the 2020-21 winter season.. South Lake Tahoe photographer Brian Walker filmed and edited the video giving it a sharp, detailed and progressive feel.
“The community support at film premieres has been positive,” Dayberry said in an email. The film was an Official Selection of the IF3 Ski Film Festival. | @dizzleberry, youtube.com
