Editorial Policy and Fact-Checking

Where2Ski publishes guides to skiing in the United States and to buying and owning a home near the slopes, and it maintains a directory of U.S. ski areas. This page covers how both are researched, written, reviewed and kept current.

What we publish

Our guides cover where and how to ski, first trips, cross-country skiing, ski travel, how lift tickets and passes generally work, official weather and safety resources, and what to check when buying, owning or budgeting for a home near skiing. We also explain how the directory and the ski labels on listings work.

We report facts rather than forecasts, so you won't find rankings of ski areas, towns or neighborhoods, snow or price predictions, or investment picks. Guides are general information. For decisions about a specific property, talk with a licensed professional in your state (an attorney, lender, insurance agent, tax advisor or real estate agent), and for skiing skills and safety, take lessons from a qualified instructor.

How we research

When a guide states a rule, program detail or safety recommendation, it links to the organization that publishes it: the National Weather Service, avalanche.org and regional avalanche centers, state transportation departments, the USDA Forest Service and other land managers, the National Ski Areas Association, PSIA-AASI, the Cross Country Ski Areas Association, state ski associations, the CFPB, the EPA and the IRS, among others. Trade groups and associations are cited for their own codes, policies, programs and member lists.

Every statistic, snowfall figure, price, ticket cost, pass term, rental rule, quote and credential in a guide comes from a source we can link to. If something can't be verified, it stays out or is flagged for confirmation before publication. Experiences and reviews are never invented.

Ticket and pass terms change every season, and access, road, rental and building rules differ by state, county, town, association and ski area. Our guides say so and point to the official source. Distances are described as straight-line miles, and drive times come from routing tools.

Listings on Where2Ski are participating MyStateMLS listings, a subset of everything for sale, so we don't present inventory counts as market statistics.

Each guide lists its sources with the date they were last checked.

Safety topics

For safety, we send readers to current official resources and qualified instruction. Backcountry route, terrain and snowpack decisions belong to accredited education and official avalanche centers, and a missing bulletin is never a sign of low risk. See conditions, weather and official safety resources.

Ski access claims

In guides and on listings, ski-in and ski-out are separate claims, and a shuttle or short walk is its own thing. Trail, lift, pass and membership rights come from documents and policies, and we write about them that way. See how listings qualify for Where2Ski.

How guides are written

Some drafts start with the help of AI writing tools. Every one is reviewed, fact-checked against its sources, edited and approved by a human editor before it's published, and only an editor can publish.

Our writing standards:

• Explain things plainly and specifically, with practical steps.
• Say when something varies by state, area, season, association, lender or insurer.
• Make no promises about loans, rates, permits, access rights, snow or outcomes.
• Describe properties, places and processes, never who should live where. See our fair housing statement.

How guides are reviewed

1. Draft: a writer prepares the guide with sources and notes on anything that needs checking.
2. Edit: an editor checks structure, clarity, fairness and house style.
3. Fact-check: someone other than the writer opens every source, confirms it says what the guide claims and resolves every open question.
4. Professional review: guides on lending, legal, tax, insurance or safety topics are flagged for review by an appropriately licensed or certified professional, such as an attorney, insurance agent, lender, tax professional or certified ski instructor.
5. Approval: an editor approves the final version and schedules it.

Dates and updates

Each guide shows when it was published and when it was last reviewed. Published guides are reviewed on a regular schedule, and guides that mention passes, tickets or reservations are re-checked before each ski season. A substantive update changes the "last updated" date.

The ski directory

Directory entries are factual records built from operators, land managers and official associations, each with a verification level and a date. Records found only in secondary sources are held for review, and every submission, correction and operator claim is reviewed before anything changes. We don't contact ski areas, operators or associations on a submitter's behalf. Read how the ski directory is built.

Corrections

If something in a guide looks wrong or out of date, tell us through our contact page with the title, what should change and a source if you have one. For a directory entry, use suggest a correction.

Confirmed errors are corrected promptly. A substantive correction to a guide gets a short note at the end describing what changed and when. Minor fixes, such as typos or broken links, may be made without a note.

Listing information

Prices, statuses, photos and descriptions come from MyStateMLS and its participating brokerages, and our editors leave that content as the brokerage wrote it. Ski labels on listings follow the published qualification rules.

Independence

Nobody pays to be listed, ranked or written about in our guides or directory. If we ever publish sponsored content, it will be clearly labeled.