Just in time for possibly the biggest winter storm of 2019, one of the country’s leading websites for snow information
has been relaunched as Snow.NZ.
Founded in 1995, Snow.co.nz was the place Kiwis searched for where to ski and ride, find snow reports and webcams, or
check pretty much anything else they needed for a trip to the snow. But, based in Christchurch, the business was badly
affected by the earthquakes and the site fell into disrepair.
Earlier this year, Lawrence Smith who owned a rival site SnowHQ, approached the owner of snow.co.nz and proposed a new
partnership. This included rebranding the site, merging information from both sites into one, and rebuilding the
technical infrastructure from the base up. The result is a brand new site called Snow.NZ, with the tagline “Knowledge is
Pow(d)er. As a site that specialises in snow reports and forecasts, the tagline is a play on where to find the powder,
but also giving skiers and riders the power to make the right decisions. It’s online now at www.Snow.NZ.
Lawrence Smith, the “Snow Squad Leader” says that power is important. “As a completely independent site, we have no
commercial bias towards pushing any single ski areas message. We promote them all, and our ultimate goal is to ensure
help skiers and riders have “their best day ever!” on the slopes. That means giving them the right information to make
the decision that’s best for them. That might include which ski area best suits them, which day is best to go, and even
things like where’s the best place to rent gear, or how to get there?”
It’s early days for the site with many more features yet to be rolled out, meaning the site isn’t just for the hard core
skier and rider. With information on every New Zealand ski area, and soon a number of overseas ones, it’s a great
research tool to find new places to ski and ride. But it’s also ideal for those new to the snow to find out what they
need and where to go? They expect their “Give Snow a Go” section to be popular for those people wanting to try the sport
out.
While the 2019 winter has delivered less snow than expected so far, there has been great skiing at various resorts, and
with colder temperatures snow making has been in full production. But it’s new snow that gets snow lovers excited, and
one of the new and maybe best features of the site is the snow forecast tool, which calculates for each ski area the
amount of snow expected to fall for the next one, three and seven days.
The good news however is that snow is on its way, and the site is expected to be busy helping skiers and riders have
their best day ever. An app is also available for download, for both Android and Apple phones, find it at www.Snow.NZ.