Time to mention today’s sponsors, Ski Independence & Canada’s Alberta.  The team at Ski Independence have been sending customers to Alberta’s ski resorts for almost 30 years. With oodles of personal experience, they know all about the best places to stay, the best travel options… and everything in between: from Banff’s best après-ski locations, to breathtaking scenery at Lake Louise, or how to get the best out of a multi-centre itinerary – they highly recommended road-tripping up the spectacular Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper for an experience like no other. Visit ski-i.com/alberta to find out more about booking Canada’s Alberta with tailor-made specialists Ski Independence. ****************** NEWS: Snowcamp AJ Bell 3 Valley’s Rally Val Thorens, April 13-16Dave Ryding takes bronzeGreen Les ArcsChamonix has reported the most snowfall in the worldA ski chalet above Cervinia with views from the Italian side of the Matterhorn. that was a ruin in 2015 is now on sale at €24m Tragic accident in St Gervais****************** Weather report Brought to our listeners in association with our friends at SkiWeekends The flexible ski holiday experts, choose form 10 fantastic catered  chalets and over 100 hotels in over 40 resorts.  You can stay as long as you like with SkiWeekends. ****************** Gear Reviews - Avalanche Air Bag Back Packs Best for Ski touring… If you’re looking at day tours only then the 25 litre Scott Patrol Ultralight at under 2kg’s is perfect. £1,100 from scott-sports.com The slightly larger ORTOVOX Avabag :iTRIC Tour 30 litre pack at £1,250 is a good bet. ortovox.com Best for freeriding - Again you can tour with this pack it’s just slightly larger  the Mammut Pro 45 removable airbag 3.0 costs £650 it’s 45 litres in size and has a removable airbag system with carbon cartridges. Check that out at mammut.com  Best for travelling - The Deuter Alproof Lite 30 pack comes with loads of tech and a battery that is easy to travel with. £1,300 from deutergb.co.uk  ****************** Looking back on 2023 Best trip/resort ROB:  Big Sky in Montana. DOM: 10 Day Colorado road trip to Beaver Creek, Vail and Breckenridge Best après ROB:  Interlaken, Switzerland DOM: Tignes  Best bit of kit ROB:  Armada Declivity 102Ti DOM: Sweet Protection Helmet Igniter  In the meantime Happy Skiing :). Please do leave a review it's the only way other like minded skiers get to find us! And don't forget to check us out on the following channels inthesnow.com instagram.com/inthesnow TikTok@inthesnowmag youtube.com/inthesnowmag facebook.com/inthesnow and contact us with your suggestions for further episodes at [email protected]