Who makes this, and how we handle source status
The short version: we're a small Salt Lake City team building independent pass planning around dated prices and access rules. The bundled historical snow layer remains local legacy context while its original source-acquisition provenance is rebuilt and verified; that status comes before any new snow-based promotional claim.
Historical-data status: the bundled 36-season snow material is still locally available as legacy context, but its original source-acquisition provenance is not yet reproducibly verified. We are not promoting it as a new research dataset or using it to make fresh snow-based pass-buy claims. Dated prices and access rules remain separately sourced.
What we will never doThe commitments that make the verdicts worth reading
- No affiliate linksWe earn nothing whether you buy a pass or don't. Several passes are told “skip it” on this site.
- No paid placementNobody can pay to be included, ranked higher, or described more kindly.
- No hiding bad resultsThe legacy accuracy artifact is in the same holding state as the historical record; it will not be presented as a current verified result until the clean rebuild can be reproduced from its source-acquisition receipt.
- No fake precisionWhere the data can't separate two mountains, we say so instead of ranking them anyway.
What's actually in hereAs of 2026-07-27
Every pass price and access rule is a dated source snapshot — including prices still showing last season because the operator has not published 2026-27 rates. We'd rather show a labelled old number than pretend it is today's checkout price. Recheck the operator before buying.
Use the data
Use the dated pass-price and access-source trail for current planning. Seasonal research outputs stay unavailable until the historical-data rebuild is reproducibly verified.
The seasonal JSON endpoint at https://skipassplanner.com/api/passcast/{resort-slug} currently returns a machine-readable 503 holding response while historical provenance is rebuilt. Pass-price and access references remain the better current planning source.
See the data and sources guide for the current pass-price and access-source trail and the historical-data boundary. Journalists and editors can start with the press & editorial sources map. The seasonal JSON endpoint and research downloads remain in holding. The RSS feed remains available only for current, source-reviewed pass-price dates; it does not publish snow updates until the historical-data rebuild clears its provenance gate.
About Ski Pass Planner by PassCast: straight answers
- Who is behind Ski Pass Planner by PassCast?
- A small independent team based in Salt Lake City — skiers who spend the autumn arguing about the same question everyone else does: what is this winter actually going to do, and is the pass worth it? We're not a resort, a pass company, or a media group. PassCast started because we wanted an honest answer to that question and couldn't find one that wasn't written by someone selling passes.
- How does PassCast make money?
- PassCast Plan is a $19 one-time pack: a saved 2026-27 verdict for the mountains, days, and household ages you enter, plus matching reported price dates. The pass calculator, family prices, and deadline calendar stay free. We still have no affiliate links, no commission on pass sales, no sponsored placements, and no paid rankings. The moment a site earns money per pass sold, its verdicts stop being trustworthy. If we add another paid product, it will be disclosed on this page first.
- Is PassCast affiliated with Epic, Ikon, or any resort?
- No. We're not affiliated with Vail Resorts, Alterra, Mountain Collective, Indy Pass, or any individual resort. Nobody pays to be included, ranked higher, or described favourably. Several resorts come out badly in our numbers, and they stay that way.
- Where does the data come from, and can I check it?
- The bundled historical snow record is legacy local context whose original source-acquisition provenance is being rebuilt and verified before it is promoted as a reproducible public dataset. Exact-date Powder Odds remains paused until its separately licensed daily archive is ready. Pass prices are date-stamped snapshots with official links, and current access rules are documented on the pass pages. The data-and-sources and methodology pages carry the full status and limits.
- How accurate is it, really?
- The existing back-test depends on the legacy historical layer, whose original source-acquisition provenance is not yet reproducibly verified. We are not presenting that score as a current verified accuracy claim until the clean rebuild is complete.
- Can I use PassCast data on my own site?
- The seasonal API route emits a machine-readable 503 holding notice only; it does not make seasonal data available. Do not republish cached fields as a newly verified data product; use the documented pass-price and access sources for current planning.
Found something wrong? Corrections are genuinely welcome — a site whose whole argument is “check our work” has to mean it.