At a time when public finances are low and the cost of setting up, operating, maintaining and managing observation systems high, it is essential to understand the importance of field data in snow engineering. This paper will explain and demonstrate this importance using practical examples in the fields of avalanche dynamics and drifting snow. For snow avalanche dynamics, a huge effort has been made to carry out and manage field measurements and observations and to disseminate data at the European or even global level. This has led to significant progress in related snow engineering applications. For drifting snow, however, much still needs to be done. Ongoing work and propositions aimed at enhancing the database and improving the management of field observations will be presented.