April 13, 2018 (Squaw Valley, CA) – In this edition of Talkin’ With the Gravey Train, our host Peter Graves talks with legendary Marty Hall, who will be inducted to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame’s class of 2017 this weekend in Squaw Valley, site of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games and where Hall’s career began.

America made its first foray into the international cross country spotlight in the 1970s under the hard-driving, passionate leadership of Hall, the U.S. Ski Team head coach at the time. He also played a key role in the growth of women’s cross-country skiing spearheading the first team back in 1969 with Al Merrill as the new teams coach. He created a points system for criteria with his wife Cathy that is still used to this day. Hall also managed and coached the inaugural US Olympic women’s team at the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan. He and Merrill also launched a youth series that evolved into the current Bill Koch League.

Foremost among the accomplishments was Bill Koch’s 1976 Olympic silver medal, marking the historic first Games medal won by an American cross-country skier. At Pyeongchang 2018, Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall claimed Team Sprint gold, earning the first US women’s  cross-country Olympic medal… a medal close the Hall’s heart.

Hall was also a noted innovator with waxing techniques such as base sanding and applying mohair strips to skis. In 1981, he published “One Stride Ahead: An Expert Guide To Cross Country Skiing.” He penned a Hallmarks column in SkiTrax Magazine since the early 90s including an on-line opinion column The Way I See It at skitrax.com.

Interview with Marty Hall