When you watch a guy wrestle a snowmobile through five feet of Alaskan powder or land a bush plane on a frozen river that looks about as wide as a sidewalk, you don't usually stop to ask for his birth certificate. You’re too busy wondering if he’s going to make it home to Two Rivers. But for fans of the History Channel’s Mountain Men, mountain man Marty Meierotto age has become a bit of a recurring mystery.
Maybe it's the beard. Or the way he moves like a guy half his age while checking a 200-mile trapline. Honestly, Marty is one of those rare TV personalities who actually lives the life he portrays. No Hollywood makeup. No fake drama. Just a guy who decided at 21 that Wisconsin was getting a little too crowded and headed north to find some breathing room.
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How Old is Marty Meierotto Really?
Let’s get the hard numbers out of the way. Marty was born in July 1960. As we sit here in early 2026, that puts him at 65 years old.
Most people his age are eyeing retirement communities or at least thinking about downsizing the lawnmower. Not Marty. While he did officially retire from his "day job" as a smokejumper and pilot for the Alaska Fire Service back in 2019, his lifestyle in the bush hasn't slowed down much. He spent over 30 years jumping out of planes into wildfires. That kind of career leaves a mark on a person, but for Marty, it seems to have just hardened him into a permanent fixture of the Alaskan interior.
He’s been trapping since he was eight. That’s nearly six decades of reading tracks and surviving sub-zero nights. When you look at his face on the screen, you aren't seeing age as much as you're seeing a map of every winter he’s survived in the Revelation Mountains.
Why the Age Question Matters to Fans
People get obsessed with the mountain man Marty Meierotto age because it represents a ticking clock. We’ve seen other legends from the show, like Tom Oar, eventually have to face the reality that the body can't always keep up with the spirit. Tom is well into his 80s now. Marty, being two decades younger, represents the "prime" of the mountain man lifestyle—old enough to have the wisdom of a master, but still young enough to haul a moose carcass through the brush.
It's about capability. In Alaska, being "old" is a relative term. If you can still swing an axe and pull a starter cord at -40 degrees, you’re young enough.
The Wisconsin Roots and the Big Move
Marty didn't just appear in Alaska out of thin air. He grew up in northern Wisconsin. His dad, Thomas, was the one who got him into trapping. It’s funny, you’ve probably heard people say they want to "get away from it all," but Marty actually did it. In 1985, he and his brother Jeff drove a beat-up truck all the way to Alaska.
He was 25 then.
Think about that for a second. At an age when most of us were trying to figure out how to pay rent on a studio apartment, Marty was scouting remote trap lines in a wilderness that wants to kill you. He spent those early years working odd jobs—construction, logging, whatever paid the bills—just so he could spend his winters in a one-room cabin 200 miles from the nearest road.
Life After the Smokejumping Retirement
In 2019, a video circulated showing Marty’s final flight for the BLM Alaska Fire Service. It was an emotional moment. He’d spent 31 years as a hotshot, smokejumper, and pilot. Seeing him get sprayed down with water (a traditional retirement salute) by his fellow crew members felt like the end of an era.
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But it wasn't the end of his mountain man life.
He told the History Channel cameras back in Season 8 that he was leaving the show to focus on his daughter, Noah, and spend more time off-camera. Fans were crushed. But if you’ve been keeping up with the 2024 and 2025 seasons, you’ll notice that the pull of the wilderness—and maybe the production crew—brought him back into the fold. He’s currently appearing in the latest episodes, showing a new generation (including Noah, who is now a young woman following in his footsteps) how to navigate the bush.
A Different Kind of 60s
The way Marty lives at 65 is vastly different from the average American. He’s not sitting on a porch. He’s:
- Maintaining a bush plane (which he flies himself).
- Managing a cabin that requires constant manual labor just to stay warm.
- Teaching Noah the nuances of the fur trade.
- Writing stories about his life (his book In the Land of Wilderness is a goldmine for anyone who actually wants to know what it's like out there).
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a misconception that these guys are "anti-social" or "loners" because of their age or lifestyle. If you watch Marty with his wife, Dominique, it’s clear that’s not the case. The "mountain man" thing isn't a rejection of people; it’s a preference for a specific kind of freedom.
Another big mistake? Thinking he’s "stuck in the past." Marty uses a satellite phone. He flies a modern bush plane. He understands that technology is a tool for survival, not something to be feared. He’s a bridge between the old-school trappers of the 1800s and the modern survivalists of 2026.
Staying Power in the Alaskan Interior
So, what’s the actionable takeaway here? If you’re looking at mountain man Marty Meierotto age and wondering how he does it, it comes down to a few specific things you can actually apply to your own life, even if you live in a suburb:
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- Functional Fitness: Marty doesn't go to a gym. His workout is his life. If you want to stay mobile into your 60s and 70s, you have to move your body in ways that matter.
- Purpose-Driven Living: Marty has a reason to get out of bed every morning—if he doesn't, the pipes freeze or the stove goes out. Having a "why" keeps you young.
- Skill Acquisition: He never stopped learning. He learned to fly in his 20s. He learned to build cabins. He’s constantly adapting.
If you want to follow Marty's journey more closely, his book is the best place to start. It moves away from the "reality TV" edit and gets into the head of a man who has spent more time alone in the woods than most people spend in their own living rooms. You can also catch him on the current season of Mountain Men, where he's proving that 65 is just a number when you've got a plane to fly and a trapline to check.
Check your local listings for the History Channel or look for his updates through the Alaska Trappers Association. The man is a living legend, and he isn't done yet.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Read "In the Land of Wilderness": This collection of 30 stories gives the most authentic look at Marty’s life before and during the TV fame.
- Watch Season 13 and 14: Observe how his role has shifted from a solo survivor to a mentor for his daughter, Noah.
- Support the Alaska Trappers Association: Marty is a long-time member and advocate for sustainable trapping and wilderness conservation.