Next winter's ski equipment will be available to test out before this season ends, later this month in fact, at a special ski test event open to the public at the little ski resort of Oz-en-Oisans in France, which shares the huge Alpe d'Huez grand domaine ski area with its 250 km of pistes.
Wittily named 'The Big LaboSki' the event has run for several years now and comes back to Oz-en-Oisans from 23-24 March 2019 this season.
Skis and split boards from 10 big brands including Rossignol, Atomic and K2 are available for registered guests to try on the Free Ride domain with official resort guides for two consecutive days.
On Saturday 23 March, expert skiers can also take part in a sunset hike with instructors, where they will ski from the top of the mountain to the centre of Oz-en-Oisans, hopefully surrounded by the orange glow of the setting sun if the weather plays ball.
On arrival, skiers and snowboarder can join in with the party with drinks, a barbecue and live music.
Day packages for the Big LaboSki start at €75 / £65pp.