PowderDay

> cat powderday/problem.md

## THE PROBLEM

Every time I wanted to plan a ski trip, I'd end up with 10+ tabs open - checking snowfall forecasts here, flight prices there, trying to remember how much lift tickets cost at each resort. I just wanted one answer: where should I go, and when, to get the best snow for the least money?

> cat powderday/approach.md

## THE APPROACH

• -Full-stack app: React frontend, Express backend
• -A PowderScore algorithm that weighs snow quality (60%), cost (30%), and convenience (10%) to rank every trip option
• -Open-Meteo for free snowfall forecasts - 16-day window plus historical averages for dates further out
• -SerpApi for real-time Google Flights pricing, with a direct link to Google Flights as fallback when the API quota runs out
• -SQLite resort database seeded from JSON with lift ticket, lodging, meal, and transfer costs by region

> cat powderday/build.md

## THE BUILD

• -50+ resorts across North America, Europe, Japan, and Southern Hemisphere
• -Filter by ski pass (Epic, Ikon, Independent), departure airport, dates, and budget
• -Full trip cost breakdown: flights + lodging + meals + lift tickets + rentals + transfers
• -Daily snowfall charts per resort with confidence indicators for forecast reliability
• -Weather caches refresh every 6 hours, flight prices every 24 hours
• -Rate-limited API calls to stay on free tiers

> cat powderday/outcome.md

## THE OUTCOME

PowderDay replaces the 10-tab research session with a single ranked list. Pick your dates, airport, and pass, and it tells you where the best snow-to-dollar value is. Handles metric and imperial, inverted seasons for Southern Hemisphere resorts, and keeps working when API quotas run dry.