Seth Masia

Seth began skiing during a climbing trip to Chamonix in the summer of 1968, while attending the University of Chicago. He joined the staff of BACKPACKER Magazine in 1972, and of SKI Magazine in 1974. He served as editor of SKI Business, managing editor of Cross Country Ski Magazine, and senior editor/technical editor of SKI Magazine. The work took him around the world to ski, and everywhere he went he saw glaciers melting. So he began writing about climate change in 1990, and in 2007 earned a master’s degree in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado/Boulder. That year he joined the American Solar Energy Society as an editor of the magazine SOLAR TODAY; he later served as executive director of ASES.

In 1993, Seth joined K2 Corp. as product manager for alpine skis, but returned to SKI a year later as general manager/online products, and launched the magazine’s award-winning website, skinet.com. He was recruited as a website producer by Microsoft Corp., then worked at Intrawest as director of internet strategy. Seth has managed ISHA’s website since shortly after it was launched by Mort Lund.

Seth has taught skiing since 1984, at Squaw Valley, Vail and Snowmass, and has served on the board of directors of the Colorado Ski Museum. He is the author of half a dozen books on mountain sports, and has won several awards for writing and website innovations. He has written for Backpacker, Outside, The New York Times and dozens of other publications. He has long been a frequent contributor to Skiing History magazine, and today serves as its editor. In 2023, Seth was inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame.

“Every sport has its great characters and fascinating tales,” Seth said. “Skiing, as a sport and culture, has more than its share of great stories, told in many languages. They’re all worth retelling, and in particular it’s great fun to squirrel out the truth behind each myth.”