Advice for a 2-3 day pack?

I have a couple ski day packs that I like, but my ancient REI internal frame (the old green and red one) is a huge beast that is unpleasant company.

I have found a million packs that are better than mine, but I have not found many that seem good for backcountry skiing.  I would like one that had the dedicated avy tools pocket on the outside like my daypacks and the ability to compress down to a decent day pack once I have set up camp.  Three days would probably be the longest trip I would go on.  Snowboard and ski carry are a must, but I could hook that up myself if I had to (although i would rather not if I am paying real money for what i want).   I've been to a few shops, but the salespeople don't seem to know of any.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Black Diamond Anarchist is an excellent 2-3 day pack. Carries well, skis great. There's an avalung version too.

^^ - try one on before you buy, everyone is built differently, but I've never felt like the BD packs carried well. That's just one mans opinion though.

Personally, I've really grown fond of my Cilo worksack 60L pack, it's enormous and you could easily get by in the 40L if you wanted.

I've grown very tired of my old mammut spindrift for a huge list of reasons, but the new ones do seem improved.

finally, take a look at the osprey variant, I've heard good things.

The GoLite Quest isn't a ski-specific pack but has a great outer compartment that will hold your av tools and at just $79, it's one hell of a deal!  Per your requirements, it carries skis in A-frame, and side compression straps connect in front for snowboard carry.  It also has a removable top lid and compacts nicely when serving daypack duty.  I own one and love it for multi-day winter and week+ summer trips.

Check out the Osprey Variant 52. I have the Variant 37 and love it for day trips.

www.rei.com/product/772421/osprey-variant-52-pack

Thanks for the advice! Those all look like good options. Unfortunately when you live in southeast WA, there are no stores locally that carry any of these packs, so I am mail ordering or making a gear pilgrimage.