Boulder, CO
27°
The mountain doesn't wait for you to be ready and doesn't care what your plans are. The weather is going to roll in regardless. This has made planning ski or hiking trips a roll of the dice and many ruined days due to questionable weather.
Who better to forecast the mountain weather than a meteorologist who is also obsessed with the mountain?
Let's be real, if you are a skier or a mountain climber, chances are that you have found yourself at the mercy of the weather. The mountain doesn't wait for you to be ready and doesn't care what your plans are. The weather is going to roll in regardless. This has made planning ski or hiking trips a roll of the dice and many ruined days due to questionable weather.
But in the last few years, there has been a tool that has helped the outdoor community be more prepared for the weather and make skiing and mountain hiking trips safer and more enjoyable than ever. OpenSnow is a website and app that is redefining the role technology and social media play in predicting powder days, much to the skiing community’s delight.
OpenSnow began in 2007 when Joel Gatz grew frustrated at missing powder on the mountains due to inaccurate snow reports. As his frustration grew, he put his own education in meteorology to work and used his own forecasts. Then his friends began to follow his forecasts, and eventually others followed suit.
Vail Beaver Creek Magazine
Who better to forecast the mountain weather than a meteorologist who is also obsessed with the mountain?
Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Joel started skiing when he was four-years-old at Shawnee Mountain. His love for skiing and snow days only grew from there. Joel began ski racing and teaching Shawnee Mountain, but sought more after his first ‘real’ powder day at Alpine Meadows in California. Nothing could beat that free and floating feeling. It only makes sense that Joel ended up in Colorado, home to over 15 separate mountain ranges.
He moved to Boulder in 2003 to attend CU for graduate school in environmental studies and an MBA. He studied meteorology in his undergrad at Penn State and wanted to branch out a little bit more. Not to mention that relocating to Colorado meant unfettered access to the Rocky Mountains and some of the best skiing in the country. And a bolstering tech startup community that turned out to be a perfect combination for his talents and drive.
He has been able to take his passion for both skiing and meteorology and turn it into a flourishing business with four employees working remotely wherever they are able to hit the slopes. But he wasn't finished there, Joel then expanded his OpenSnow mobile app to include summer activities like hiking and biking.
We recently caught up with Joel to inquire about the expansion:
CL: What sparked the idea to take it into summer activities such as hiking and biking?
Joel Gatz: OpenSnow started as a "scratch your own itch" type of product because my friends and I wanted to find the best powder. In a similar way, during the summer months, we spend a lot of time having fun in the mountains and trying to dodge rain and lightning, so we wanted an app designed just for that.
CL: What do you see for the future of the app?
Joel Gatz: We hope to provide more global forecast locations (there are about 1,700 now in the US, users can submit requests to add points) and more ways to dial in the data for a specific activity.
CL: Are there other applications you think the app can be used for?
Joel Gatz: I often use the app as my primary weather app to look at radar, forecast radar (18 hours into the future) and also to track smoke forecasts (18 hours into the future) when wildfires are nearby.
Joel and his team at OpenSnow put out forecasts worldwide. Over 2 million people visit the website and the apps for iPhone and Android each season. If you are planning a trek anytime soon, be sure to download it to find the best time for you and your group.
They are also always looking to expand, so if forecasts are not available in your area, you can submit a request for availability on your local mountain our hiking spot. The Data-heads of OpenSnow and OpenSummit are always up for an adventure to a new place!
iOS downloads: OpenSnow - OpenSummit
Google Play downloads: OpenSnow - OpenSummit
