The snow gods: How a couple of ski bums built the internet’s best weather app
Why it matters: This story highlights how niche expertise and AI can disrupt established industries, offering superior, hyper-accurate solutions.
- OpenSnow developed the internet's leading snow-forecasting app, outperforming federally funded services and major brands by combining government data with its own AI models and decades of alpine expertise.
- Founders Bryan Allegretto and Joel Gratz bootstrapped OpenSnow from an email list of 37 to a cult following of half a million, becoming "microcelebrities" among skiers who rely on their "Daily Snow" reports.
- The app's forecasts have been particularly crucial during a "weirder winter" on record, accurately predicting conditions ranging from the US West's intense storm cycle and rapid melt to the East's rare, deep, and seemingly endless snowfall.
- Allegretto's lifelong obsession with weather, stemming from childhood experiences chasing Nor'easters with his highway authority father, laid the groundwork for his deep understanding of snow patterns and forecasting.
OpenSnow, an independent app founded by two "ski bums," has become the go-to snow forecasting tool for skiers and snowboarders globally, leveraging government data, proprietary AI, and deep alpine experience to deliver hyper-accurate predictions. Despite a challenging winter with record-low snow in the US West and deadly avalanches, OpenSnow's forecasts have proven vital, offering a crystal ball for powder hounds and guiding decisions from Alpine Meadows to Mont Blanc.
