How We Collect & Normalise Lift Pass Prices Across Europe

    Comparing lift pass prices across Europe sounds simple. It is not. Different operators sell different units (day, 6-day, season pass, family bundle) in different currencies, with promotions that distort the headline number.

    Here is exactly how we turn that mess into one EUR-comparable price per resort.

    Source of truth: the resort's own pricing page

    Every price on Where-to-Ski.com starts from the resort or operator's official pricing page (Skistar, Compagnie des Alpes, Vail Resorts, SkiArlberg, etc.). We do not use travel-agent or tour-operator prices, because those bundle accommodation and distort comparability.

    Currency normalisation

    All prices are normalised to EUR for cross-resort comparability. SEK is converted at a fixed 11:1 rate to avoid daily exchange-rate noise polluting our 'cheapest' rankings; CHF, USD, CAD and NOK use weekly mid-market rates.

    Operator-specific rules we hard-code

    Some operators sell pricing models that need explicit handling, not a generic 'day price' scrape:

    • Skistar (Sweden/Norway) — published 6-day pass × 4.9 to derive an effective daily rate.
    • Compagnie des Alpes — high-season price used, not the misleading low-season opening week.
    • Vail Epic / Alterra Ikon — walk-up window rate, not the pass-holder rate.
    • Glacier-only summer access — excluded from winter day-pass comparisons.

    Seven-day-consecutive rule

    Single-day promotional prices ('opening weekend €19!') would destroy any honest cheapest-resort ranking. We require a price to be available for seven consecutive days in the main winter window before it enters the comparison set.

    Perplexity Sonar verifies these for resorts that don't expose machine-readable pricing, with the same seven-day requirement applied to its output.

    Frequently asked questions

    Why is your lift pass price different from what I paid at the window?

    Window prices include short-window promotions, group rates and accommodation bundles. We publish the standard adult walk-up day rate, normalised to EUR, with a seven-day-consecutive availability requirement — the most honest comparison number.

    Why convert SEK at a fixed 11:1 rate?

    Day-to-day FX moves would re-rank Scandinavian resorts every week without any real price change. A fixed conversion makes year-over-year comparisons honest.

    Do you include pass-holder pricing (Epic, Ikon)?

    No. Pass-holder rates depend on a multi-resort pre-purchase that most international visitors do not own. We use the standard walk-up rate so the comparison reflects what a one-trip visitor actually pays.