SnowSure — Snow & Ski

Text-only Q&A grounded in SnowSure data (~1s). Use for open-ended questions, run counts by grade ("how many black or double-black runs", "what percent of runs are expert": answered with the operator's own count per grade and its share of graded runs, with the source; where a resort has no per-grade count it answers with the share of TERRAIN by ability and says it is not a run count), terrain %, advice, AND specifically: El Niño / ENSO / 2026-27 winter outlook (or call get_elnino_signal / get_elnino_rankings), head-to-head resort comparisons (annual snowfall, vertical drop, base/summit elevation, skiable area — "which has more snowfall, Niseko or Whistler"), season-opening norms ("which resort typically opens earliest", "usually open by Thanksgiving"), glacier / year-round skiing, and factual resort & geography trivia (what country/state/island a resort is in, named runs like Corbet's Couloir, records like the highest chairlift). NEVER use for photo/gallery/picture requests (→ get_resort_photos) or resort guide cards (→ get_resort_info). Does NOT render UI cards.

Lodging near a resort via LUXSKI for the signed-in user. With a specific `hotelName` + checkIn + checkOut it PREBOOKS a live rate and returns a LUXSKI checkout URL to complete payment (we hold the rate + attribute the booking; we never charge). Without those it returns availability + a booking link. Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth). Payment always completes on LUXSKI.

Compare snow forecasts across 7 weather models (ECMWF, GFS, GEM, JMA, ICON, Météo-France, Met Norway) for a resort. Shows model agreement and uncertainty. Use for forecast reliability queries. The model table and days 8–14 need SnowSure Pro, or a resort in My Mountains when signed in; otherwise this returns the seven-day blend alone.

Compare ski passes on price, resort coverage, and value — the tool for "which season pass includes <resort> — Epic or Ikon?" (pass resortSlugs=[<resort>]). Optionally pass resortSlugs you plan to ski and tripDays to see which pass covers them and whether it beats buying window lift tickets.

Compare 2–4 resorts side by side across snow, terrain, and live conditions — every value comes from the SnowSure conditions resolver/contract. Use for head-to-head stat questions phrased as either/or: "which gets more average annual snowfall, X or Y", "which has the greater vertical drop / higher base or summit elevation / bigger skiable area, X or Y", "which typically opens earlier, X or Y". Optionally restrict to specific dimensions.

Find resorts with the freshest powder snow right now. Returns resorts sorted by 24-hour snowfall. Use for "where is it snowing?" or "fresh powder" queries.

Complete the trip: from a resort, find the nearest gateway airport(s) and get flight-search links from your home airport. The "get there" leg of the funnel — pair with find_best_powder / find_powder_trips (find fresh snow) → this → book_lodging (stay). Args: resort (slug, required — use search_resorts to resolve a name), optional origin (your home-airport IATA like DEN, or a city name).

List the resorts on a ski pass, optionally filtered to a region — answers "is <resort> on the Ikon Pass" and "what resorts does the Epic Pass include". Returns names + SnowSure slugs you can pass to get_resort.

Powder trips you can BOOK: ranks resorts by their 14-day forecast (best chance of fresh snow in the bookable window) and returns handpicked luxury ski hotels at each — "where to go AND where to stay". Use for "where should I book for powder", "best powder trip this month", "book a ski trip with good snow coming". Optional vibe filter (lux | hip) shows only hotels handpicked into that tier; SnowSure shows Lux and Hip stays only. Each hotel carries an attribution-tagged booking link; booking completes on LUXSKI.

Find resorts matching specific criteria like minimum snow depth, elevation range, number of runs, or SnowSure rating. Advanced filtering for trip planning.

Current avalanche danger bulletin for a resort's forecast zone (US, Canada, Switzerland in v1), relayed from the official warning service with the issuer + link. Returns 'no bulletin' when there's no forecast service for the area or it's off-season. NOT a substitute for the official bulletin or avalanche training.

Multi-mountain destination hub (Niseko, Chamonix, Aspen Snowmass umbrella) with a table of member ski areas. Use ONLY when the user names the hub itself — NOT for photo gallery (→ get_resort_photos on a specific mountain slug) and NOT for resort guide cards (→ get_resort_info).

Ranked El Niño ski resorts from SnowSure's 30-year fleet table. Filter by region (south-america, north-america, europe, asia, oceania) or tier (A prime / B favored / C ENSO-proof / D late bloomer / E timing play). Use for 'best El Niño resorts in Europe', 'where will it snow most in 2026-27', 'is El Niño good for the Alps'. Southern Hemisphere rows carry their closed 2026 season result (summit, modelled, updated date) beside the prediction.

Resort-level El Niño / ENSO outlook from SnowSure's 30-year fleet dataset (559 ranked resorts). Returns rank, tier, strong/all-event signal, analog winters ('97-98, '15-16, '23-24), forecast paragraph, methodology note, and in-season scorecard when live. Use for ANY El Niño, ENSO, or 2026-27 winter-outlook question about a named resort. A pattern, not a promise — n=3 disclosed; D/E tiers are timing plays. For a Southern Hemisphere resort whose 2026 season has closed, also returns the season result (predicted vs measured, at the summit, modelled by ERA5, with its updated date).

Get categorized SnowSure intelligence insights (not just snow totals). The last_season category is the one to reach for on retrospective questions — how a finished season compared to its 5yr norm, who led it, where the models were trustworthy. Also covers model accuracy by region, longest dry spell, and trend pulse. Insights are hemisphere-scoped narrative cards; when the question names a specific state, province, country or region and wants a ranked list, use get_season_leaderboard instead. Filter by category or insightType=intelligence to skip simple leaderboards.

Fetch SnowSure-unique ML/AI trend datasets from the public REST API. Use for powder-day leaders, bluebird-day leaders, bluebird predictions, improving/stable/declining score pulse, per-model accuracy weights, daily SnowSure score component history, ML extended outlook (days 8–14), global forecast trust, and powder/bluebird event logs. Start with dataset=catalog. Its leaderboards read CURRENT-season counters and are global — they take no season and no country/state filter. For a past season, or for any ranking scoped to a state, province, country or region ("most snow days in Maine last season", "rank BC resorts by season snowfall"), use get_season_leaderboard instead. Prefer get_insights for narrative intelligence cards; use this for raw rankings and time series.

Typical snow for a resort MONTH BY MONTH, from ~30 years of ERA5 reanalysis — average snowfall, snow days, base and peak depth, and biggest storm, plus per-season totals. Use for date-choosing questions: 'what is February usually like at Vail', 'when should I go', 'is January or March better'. This is HISTORY, not a forecast and not a prediction — for the next 14 days use get_weather_forecast, and for right now use get_resort. Months with too little history are withheld rather than shown thin; every month returned carries yearsTracked so you can cite the evidence.

Personalized snow report for the signed-in user's saved resorts — live conditions for each, ranked best-first (open resorts with the freshest snow on top). Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth).

Will the lifts run? A 48-hour operating-risk estimate from the Open-Meteo forecast — wind-hold (gusts), visibility, cold (wind-chill), and heavy-snow control delays. Modeled guidance, NOT the resort's own operating decision — always check live lift status.

Details for a multi-resort ski pass (Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective, …): operator, season pricing tiers, destination count, regions, and the buy link.

Powder Reels — SnowSure archived storm timelapses with verified accumulation data burned into the frames ("Proof of Powder"). Use for "how much did it snow at X last night", "show me the storm at Alta", "biggest powder days this season", or any request for storm footage / timelapse / receipts. Returns reels newest-first with watch links.

Get a summary of snow conditions across an entire region or country with statistics and top resorts.

Single-resort data with a REQUIRED card parameter that picks the interactive UI. card=guide → resort info card (elevation, lifts, season dates). card=photos → photo gallery carousel. card=snow → snow conditions card (score, base depth, forecast — with the base, mid and summit forecasts and the height each was made at). card=full → detailed markdown only, no card. "Resort guide" → card=guide. "Photos/gallery" → card=photos. "Conditions/forecast" / "is it open right now, base depth, lifts open of total" → card=snow (open status, base depth, and lifts open of total). Prefer get_resort_info / get_resort_photos when available (same cards).

INTERACTIVE RESORT GUIDE CARD (Resort Info sidebar UI) — elevation, vertical, lifts, runs, skiable acres, average snowfall, season dates, ski passes, editorial description, hero/gallery carousel. REQUIRED when the user asks for: resort guide, mountain profile, resort info, lifts/runs/vertical/skiable area, season dates, ski passes, or "tell me about the mountain" (non-weather). Answers single-resort stat questions: base/summit elevation, vertical drop, skiable area, average annual snowfall. Examples: "Aspen Mountain resort guide", "how many lifts at Jackson Hole", "what is the base elevation at Arapahoe Basin". For X-vs-Y stat questions use compare_resorts. Do NOT use get_resort (that shows the snow conditions card).

INTERACTIVE PHOTO GALLERY CAROUSEL — official SnowSure resort photos (hero + Sanity gallery). REQUIRED for: photos, pictures, images, gallery, "show me photos of Vail/Aspen". Never use web search or inline images — call this tool. Do NOT use get_destination, get_resort_info, or ask_snowdata for photo requests.

Driving access for a resort — answers "do I need chains to get to <resort>" and "is the road to <resort> open": a SnowSure drive call, feeder-city Saturday drive times on the PGRI pilot, plus chain-control / mountain-pass / road-surface conditions on nearby highways (California via Caltrans, Washington via WSDOT, Oregon via ODOT TripCheck, Montana via MDT 511, Wyoming via WYDOT 511, Colorado via CDOT, Utah via UDOT, British Columbia via DriveBC, Ontario via Ontario 511, New England via Compass C2C, Virginia via VDOT 511, New Zealand via NZTA). Returns 'no road data' outside the covered area. Links to the official DOT map; the resort's road status is authoritative.

Live roadside DOT/CCTV camera stills on the highways near a resort — shows what the drive actually looks like right now (California via Caltrans, Washington via WSDOT, Mount Rainier NP via NPS, Oregon via ODOT TripCheck, Montana via MDT 511, Wyoming via WYDOT 511, Utah via UDOT, British Columbia via DriveBC, Maryland via CHART/iMAP, New England via Compass C2C, Virginia via VDOT 511, New Zealand via NZTA, Alpine Europe via NAPSPAN). Distinct from resort webcams. Returns 'no road cameras' outside the covered area; each camera includes a live image URL.

Measured roadside weather (RWIS) on the highways near a resort — surface + air temperature, visibility, wind, precipitation (Colorado via CDOT, Washington via WSDOT, Oregon via ODOT TripCheck RWIS, Montana via MDT 511, Wyoming via WYDOT 511, Utah via UDOT, New England via Compass C2C). Sensor data on the actual road, distinct from the modeled get_operating_risk. Returns 'no road weather' outside the covered area.

Rank resorts by how a season actually went, scoped to a place. This is the tool for "which <place> resort had the most <metric> last season" — the single most common retrospective question agents ask. Scope by state or province (Maine, Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia, Hokkaido, Nagano, Valais, Tyrol), by country (Switzerland, Japan, Canada), or by region (north-america, europe, asia, oceania, south-america, or a colloquial range: alps, andes, rockies, scandinavia). Metrics: snow_days, total_cm, powder_days, bluebird_days, max_storm (biggest single 24h snowfall, with the date it fell), peak_depth, longest_dry_spell. Covers 30 seasons back to 1996, so it answers historical and multi-season questions too, not just last season. Season accepts 2025, "2025-26", 2026, or "last" and resolves them all to the same season. Backed by ERA5 reanalysis across the full season window, so figures cover the entire season rather than only the days SnowSure has been live. Use get_snow_history for ONE resort's own history, get_monthly_snow for typical month-by-month climatology, and get_snow_report or find_best_powder for conditions RIGHT NOW.

Resorts whose season OPENING DATE is a specific day — answers "what opens today?", "opening this week", or "which resorts start their season on June 27?". Returns only resorts scheduled or confirmed to open on that date, NOT all currently-open resorts. Prefer over get_southern_hemisphere_report for opening-day questions. This tool is date-scoped, so it is the wrong shape for two neighbouring questions: for a RANKED retrospective ("which resorts opened earliest for the 2025-26 season, top 6 by verified opening date"), use get_insights with category=season_calendar; for historical norms ("which resort typically opens earliest each season"), use ask_snowdata. For a US HOLIDAY ("which resorts are open for Thanksgiving / Christmas / Presidents' Day", "is X usually open by Thanksgiving"), pass `holiday` instead of `date`: the result is every resort projected or confirmed open on or before that holiday, each with its record ("opened by Thanksgiving 9 of the last 10 seasons"), sorted by that rate.

One resort's own snowfall history: season totals, comparison to its 5-year and 30-year averages, and best months to visit. Scoped to a SINGLE resort — for "which resort in <state/country/region> led <metric> last season", use get_season_leaderboard instead.

What the surface actually skis like at a resort — Dry powder, Soft, Packed, Crust, Spring, Wet, Wind-affected or No snow — from SnowSure's SLF SNOWPACK simulation at three elevations, with the reason and how confident it is. This is the question snowfall totals cannot answer: 30 cm that fell dry and 30 cm that fell warm and refroze are the same number and a different day. MODELED, not measured, and it describes the surface only — it is not an avalanche assessment (use get_avalanche). Returns 'not available' where the simulation has not been verified for that region yet.

Get the global snow report with top-ranked resorts by snow conditions. Returns resorts sorted by SnowSure score, forecast, or recent snowfall. Use this for "where has the best snow?" or "top ski resorts right now" queries. Each row carries forecast7dCm and forecastHorizonDays; forecast14dCm is present only for a caller entitled to the fortnight (SnowSure Pro, or a resort in a signed-in reader's My Mountains), so read forecastHorizonDays before naming a forecast total. Each row also carries forecast7dBands: the free seven days at base, mid and summit, each with the elevation its run was made at — rain at the base can be snow at the summit, so quote the height with the figure.

Get snow conditions for Southern Hemisphere ski resorts (Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile) currently in season. Answers "is Perisher / Portillo / Valle Nevado open right now and what are the current conditions", "is the Australian ski season underway", and "which Southern Hemisphere region — the Andes, Australia, or NZ — has the best snow right now". Use for June–October SH ski queries. Prefers operator-verified data when available. Do NOT use for a specific opening DATE — use get_season_openings instead. Note that the SH is not the only place to ski in the northern summer: a handful of NH glaciers run summer or year-round operations (Zermatt/Matterhorn Ski Paradise skis all year; Passo dello Stelvio, Stryn and Galdhøpiggen run deep into autumn; Hintertux, Saas-Fee, Tignes, Les Deux Alpes and Timberline have dated summer windows that close). For those, call get_resort on the named glacier — summer windows are tracked per resort and a glacier being famous for summer skiing does not mean it is open today.

Storm Watch: named multi-day storm systems the models are flagging days ahead, grouped as one event across every resort in the path and ranked biggest first. Use for "is a storm coming", "what's the next big system", "where will it dump this week". Each event carries its window, the forecast total per resort, and a confidence tier (watching / likely / locked). FORECAST, NOT OBSERVATION — nothing here has fallen yet; use get_snow_report or find_best_powder for snow that already has. Returns no events when nothing is being watched, which is the normal state outside a storm cycle.

Historical odds for a SPECIFIC trip window at one resort — 'Whistler on March 27', 'Vail Jan 10–17'. From ~30 years of ERA5 monthly history it blends the window's months (weighted by days) into: the snow-day probability (the headline — for a short window how OFTEN it snows beats how MUCH falls in a season), window-scaled expected snowfall and typical base depth, the same window across the last 5 individual seasons, and the best nearby month (±1) by snow-day odds. Window max 31 days; dates are YYYY-MM-DD. This is HISTORY, not a forecast and not a prediction — for the next 14 days use get_weather_forecast, and for a whole-month question use get_monthly_snow. Windows with under 5 tracked seasons return insufficient rather than thin odds.

Get detailed day-by-day weather forecast for a resort including temperature, snowfall, wind, and conditions for each of the next 7 days — 14 with SnowSure Pro, or for a resort in My Mountains when signed in.

Get live webcam links and status for a resort to see current on-mountain conditions visually — answers "show me the webcam / live cam at <resort>", "current conditions on camera", and named-cam lookups.

List the signed-in user's alert subscriptions. Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth).

List SnowSure insight categories (live conditions, current season, last season, forecast trust, patterns, SnowSure index, ground truth). Use before get_insights to choose a category filter. Lighter than raw leaderboards — retrospective and verification-backed cards.

List the signed-in user's saved resorts. Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth); without one it returns an authorization-required error telling the agent how to connect.

Plan a multi-stop ski road trip: picks the top-scoring resorts in a region, orders them into a drivable route (nearest-neighbour, minimal backtracking), allocates your days across stops, estimates each driving leg, and folds in live conditions plus chain-control where covered. Args: region (required), days, optional pass.

Get ski trip recommendations based on dates, preferences, and conditions. Suggests best resorts for a given time period.

Remove a resort from the signed-in user's saved list. Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth).

Add a resort to the signed-in user's My Mountains, the list of resorts they follow. Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth). The slug must be a real SnowSure resort.

Search for ski resorts by name, country, region, or US state / Canadian province (name or code, e.g. "Idaho", "ID", "BC"). Returns matching resorts with basic conditions. Use for "find resorts in [location]" or "search [name]" queries.

Subscribe the signed-in user to snow alerts. Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth). type: 'powder' (OBSERVED fresh snow >= thresholdCm in 24h), 'forecast' (the forecast total over windowDays clears thresholdCm — 14 days with Pro or on a resort in My Mountains, 7 otherwise), 'trip' (a Powder Trip — a storm inside 14 days with a curated stay to book — at a resort you name, or on a pass via scope 'pass:ikon-pass' / 'pass:epic-pass' / 'pass:mountain-collective'; scope 'any' is not accepted for trips), 'opening' (resort opens for the season), or 'bluebird' (powder day then clear skies).

Remove one of the signed-in user's alert subscriptions by id (from list_alerts). Requires a SnowSure user access token (OAuth).