James Woods wins slopestyle silver at ski World Championships

James Woods has won Great Britain's first freestyle skiing medal at a World Championships in 20 years after winning slopestyle silver in Norway.

The 21-year-old was given a score of 91.2 to place him second behind American Thomas Wallisch.

In the women's event, Britain's Katie Summerhayes finished outside the medals in fourth place with a score of 72.2.

Slopestyle where snowboarders and skiers are judged on tricks, will be a new event at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," Woods told BBC Sport.

"To do those tricks you have to be really bang on, and I feel like my second run was pretty close to it."

The bronze medal in the men's event was taken by American Nicholas Goepper in Voss-Myrkdalen.

The women's gold medal was won by Canadian Kaya Turski, who scored 89.6, with compatriot Dara Howell taking silver and American Grete Eliassen collecting bronze.

Summerhayes, who describes Woods as her best friend, has already qualified for next year's Winter Olympics as she continues to hit form on her comeback from a knee injury.

"There is no happier coach in the world at the moment," said Britain's freestyle skiing coach Pat Sharples.

"James produced an absolutely brilliant run to take silver, and what Katie has achieved so soon after coming back from injury has been amazing.

"The team is in a great place at the moment. There is a lot more work to do but we are in the best position to smash it heading into the Olympic season in 2014."

Alpine ski season off to earliest ever start due to heavy snowfalls

Over the weekend, skiers and snowboarders enjoyed outstanding conditions for this time of year as a handful of European resorts opened earlier than expected following snowfalls of up to 20ins (50cm) in the past week.

In Saas Fee, Switzerland, snow depths have already reached more than 3ft (1m) on upper slopes, while the Austrian resort of Kitzbühel earlier set an 80-year record by opening on October 24.

In Switzerland, the resorts of Zermatt, Saas Fee, and Verbier have lifts running at weekends boasting “excellent” conditions following snowfalls in Thursday and overnight on Saturday. Resorts in France and Italy are also offering weekend skiing.

Despite not being among the highest of the Austrian resorts, Kitzbühel was one of the earliest to open its lifts last month, after heavy falls over the last three weeks.

Many Alpine resorts had been becoming increasingly nervous about the unseasonably warm weather of late, which saw temperatures as high as 65F (18C) – fearing a repeat of the dire season of 2006/7.

Concerns have also been raised over the impact of the global economic crisis and poor exchange rates that have forced up the cost of holidays in Europe, especially for British tourists.

Experts said that a plethora of cheap deals available this year are also helping fuel sales.

Last year many Alpine resorts experienced the best snow conditions in a generation.