Murray Buchan has pledged to keep calm and carry on, no matter what the Sochi circuit throws up when he begins his bid for an Olympic half-pipe skiing medal today.

The 22-year-old from Edinburgh admits he's living the dream with his place in Team GB after originally writing off the sport as too difficult at his local slope in Midlothian.

However, the freestyler, who came 18th at the last world championships, has been locked away with his coaches trying to come up with a routine to wow the judges and, despite the foggy conditions which forced some events to be postponed yesterday, he's intent on pulling out a seamless run.

"It's stressful when you're thinking about points and results," Buchan said. "You have to think about getting a good run and executing the tricks, and then the points and your placing will stake care of itself. You have to really focus on pulling off the tricks without worrying about the competition."

Growing up, Buchan has always dreamt of a shot at competing at the X-Games where the top trick artists on snow showcase vie to pull off the most spectacular moves. However, when the half-pipe was added to the Winter Olympic programme three years ago, the Scot's focus turned entirely to Sochi and he's hoping it opens up the event to a whole new audience.

"People don't see this," he said. "It's not in the public eye often. But it's such an exciting event. People tune in and it's great for the sport to be part of the Olympics. Kids can see it and see that they have the opportunity to try the freestyle stuff off the jumps and pipes you get on dry sky slopes or some of the indoor domes."