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A number of ski areas in the Western Alps have posted up to 60cm (2 feet) of snowfall on their higher slopes in the last 24 hours. Chamonix and La Rosiere have both posted this amount with Flaine reporting 55cm so far.

The fresh snowfall is the heaviest so far since conditions changed at the end of last week, ending a fortnight of mostly dry weather. Les Arcs has now reached a 3 metre (10 feet) base on its higher slopes following a reported 47cm accumulation in the last 24 hours there, and 74cm since the weekend. Only Chamonix is reporting more snowfall (80cm in 72 hours) and deeper snow at 3.9 metres (13 feet) – but that's at the Pic du Midi at the top of the Vallee Blanche descent.

The snowfall has been reported over a wide area, not just in the Western Alps. Swiss ski areas Adelboden, Arosa and Saas Fee have posted several feet of snowfall over the past three days, Saas Fee getting 50cm of that in the last 24 hours.

In Italy Madesimo and Livigno have each posted more than 50cm in the same period (and La Thuile in the past 24 hours alone). It's especially good news for Livigno which has been struggling for fresh snowfall all season.

St Gervais is pictured this morning.

Scottish ski centres are opening some terrain using natural snow cover for the first time in a fortnight after several days of wild weather from Storm Éowyn left enough snowfall for some.

It's a mixed picture though with other centres saying the storm did not deliver enough snow, or that it did but the snow was blown off their slopes by the violent gales that accompanied it falling.

Glencoe Mountain Resort has the most promising report, saying that its Access Chair, Coire Pollach, Plateau Poma, Magic Carpet and Cliffy are all scheduled to run today.

"There should be some lovely skiing on the lower and mid mountain runs. Not enough snow yet on the upper mountain but it is filling in. Snow cover varies from metres to centimetres depending on how it's been blown," a spokesperson said.

The centre is also trying to get its Rannoch chair, which "took a beating in the storm" working and plans to open at 10am today to allow for site preparations.

At Glenshee the Baddoch Chair, Plastic, Rope Tow and Dink Dink will all be open today. The resort couldn't open yesterday as access roads were closed, and says wind has taken away a lot of its fresh snowfall but that they do however have snow forecast for the next few days so are hopeful more can open in due course.

Cairngorm Mountain Resort also report that currently there is not enough snow to offer any other snowsports than on their Lower learners area but also state that they are keeping things under constant review. It's a similar story at The Lecht which has two carpet lifts operating.

Nevis Range is currently closed and says it will remain so to early February.

Fresh snowfall has been reported in the western Alps over the last 24 hours, marking a return to fresh snow conditions for the first time in nearly a fortnight for many areas.

Ski areas in France and Italy have reported up to a foot (30cm) of snowfall in the past 24 hours with snowfall expected to continue through Thursday.

Chamonix has posted one of the larger accumulations with Serre Chevalier posting 20cm and La Plagne and Alpe d'Huez 15cm each. Over the Italian border Courmayeur and Pila have both past 20cm each. Chatel is pictured this morning.

Most of the Alps has been locked under a high pressure system since Sunday 12th January although a weak front already made its way into the far southwest of the region earlier this week bringing 20-30cm accumulations to ski areas like Limone in southern Italy and Isola 2000 in France, the closest resort to Nice on the Mediterranean coast.

The snowy weather is expected to be come more widespread over the coming week with heavier snowfall expected over a wide area from Sunday onwards.

La Plagne has launched an online sale of lift passes, promising up to 40% off the cost of a 6, 7 or 8 day lift pass in March and April.

The discounts apply on the full priced La Plagne or Paradiski (including Les Arcs) passes for children aged 13 to 17 and adults.

The amount saved depends on the week you book and the lower prices will be on offer, the resort says, until 4th February, warning, "Limited quantities available. Be quick, there won't be enough for everyone!"

A full-priced six-day La Plagne lift pass usually costs €348 and the Paradiski version €389.

The cheapest week is towards the end of the season, including this year's late Easter Sunday, when the full 40% discount to €178 is available.

Other date from March 7th are discounted by at least 10%. The week from 28th March, for most schools the week before the Easter holidays begin, is the second most heavily discounted at €209. This is also one of the weeks when travel agencies are saying travel and accommodation are at the cheapest they get all season.

The world's next new biggest indoor snow centre, the first to claim more than 100,000 square metres (25 acres) of indoor snow area, is rapidly moving towards completion.

Huafa Ice and Snow World is being built in Shenzhen in southeastern China, a modern metropolis that links Hong Kong to China's mainland.

Set to open to the public by the end of this year, it will overtake Shanghai's L+Snow which opened in September last year with an indoor snow area of around 90,000 square metres, the current world's largest. It had taken the title from a centre in Harbin's northeastern China, which had held it the previous six years.

In fact, the world's five largest indoor snow centres are all in China, which now has more than 60 of the centres, with reports indicating that about a fifth of all skiing in China is done indoors.

In terms of size comparison, Ski Dubai has less than a quarter of the snow area with 22,500 square meters of indoor ski area; Big Snow, North America's only indoor snow centre offers 16,000 sqm of indoor snow solaced and The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead about 5,000 sqm.

However European centres built more than 20 years ago in France, Germany and The Netherlands will still have the world's longest slopes for now at over 500m (in some cases over 600m) long as the longest of Huafa Ice and Snow World's runs will be 450 meters

Located in the Shenzhen's Qianhai area, Huafa Ice and Snow World will feature "cutting-edge snow simulation technology and offer a variety of ski runs catering to different skill levels," a spokesperson said, adding, "The complex will boast five ski runs, , as well as an 83-meter-high ski jump. Notably, the ice and snow world will also feature a 33-meter-deep "hanging ice waterfall", which will function as a diving facility."

The main structure of the ski centre is reported to be complete, according to Chinese media, and the building is currently in the fitting and finishing stage. Complementary facilities will include a JW Marriott hotel and a walkway connecting the centre to a nearby Metro centre is also currently under construction.

The 85th edition of the Hahnenkamm Races set to take place this week from January 24th to 26th in Kitzbühel, Austria.

The festival of World Cup racing kicks off with the Super-G on Friday, January 24; followed by the iconic downhill race on Saturday, January 25 and concludes with the slalom on Sunday, January 26.

The slalom is the only World Cup race that has ever been won by a Brit in the modern era, courtesy of Mr Dave 'The Rocket' Ryding. There'll be three days of training ahead of the racing, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The Hahnenkamm Race is renowned for its challenging courses, especially the Streif, which is considered one of the most difficult downhill runs in the world. The downhill course pitches at up to 85%, meaning the skiers sometimes jump up to 60 metres, and reached speeds of over 130km/h (80mph+) on their descent.

The Hahnenkamm race has a rich history, dating back to 1931, and has become a highlight of the World Cup calendar.

One of the biggest events in the Austrian sporting calendar, up to 50,000 people come to the Tirol to watch the race in person. It's also broadcast live around the world with an estimated global audience of nearly half-a-billion people In the UK it is shown in full on Eurosport, now part of DiscoveryPlus.

With France's Cyprien Sarrazin and Austria's Vincent Kreichmayr both getting injured in races earlier this month and Norway's Kilde still not racing a year again a year after his own injury in Wengen, the Swiss racers Marco Odermatt and Franjo von Allmen, who won the Wengen Downhill and Super G respectively last weekend, are hot favourites.

British teenager Mia Brookes secured her third win of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season in style at the Laax Open in Switzerland on Saturday.

Seventeen-year-old Brookes, who turns 18 today, topped the women's final with a score of 84.86, while New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott came in second with 77.29 points. Japan's Kokomo Murase finished third with 71.15 points. Two-time Olympic big air champion Anna Gasser from Austria placed fourth, followed by Reira Iwabuchi from Japan in fifth place.

"This is the best birthday present ever. I'm so hyped. Winning the Laax Open was definitely on my list," said Brookes, who added, "This is a super fun course and really hard."

Brookes' victory follows her third-place finish at Big Air Kreischberg last week and marks her third win of the season after she also won the big air events in Klagenfurt and Beijing earlier this season.

With five podium finishes from six starts this World Cup season, Brookes continues to lead the overall women's FIS Park & Pipe rankings with 485 points and also tops the slopestyle standings.

Her win in Laax is especially meaningful as Brookes claimed her first World Cup podium here in 2023 as a 16-year-old runner-up.

The 95th staging of the International Lauberhorn Races take place at Wengen in the Swiss Jungfrau ski region over the coming weekend.

First held in 1930, the Lauberhorn downhill course is the longest in the world, stretching 4.48 km (2.78 miles) and taking skiers about two and a half minutes to complete. Sunday will feature slalom races on the Männlichen course.

The Lauberhorn ski races are among the world's most well-attended winter sports events, drawing around 30,000 spectators annually. The event spans three days, starting with a super-G race on Friday, 17 January 2025. On Saturday, 18 January 2025, the world's top athletes will compete in the renowned Lauberhorn downhill race, followed by the slalom on Sunday, 19 January.

The downhill race is one of the most demanding in the world due to its length and intensity. Last year, Norway's downhill star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde had a severe crash into the fences near the race's finish and has yet to return to the circuit.

Conditions look largely favourable with sunshine, light winds and low temperatures forecast for the region through the weekend.