We debated about posting this to the website at all. Maybe it was rubbing just a little too much salt in the wounds of those who never made it out to the Alps this month. Even for those who did, would it simply quash their bragging rights into insignificance?

Picture the scene: you’re deep in the Austrian Alps during the peak of its record breaking snow-fall.

You’re staying in the idyllic sounding Stoney Mountain Lodge, the hub for all things Volcom, located only minutes away from some of the area’s best freeriding.

There are rooms (yes, plural – rooms) full of next season’s clothing lines and snowboards to equip yourself with for each day on the mountain.