Anyone hurtling down a mountain at over 100 km per hour on little more than two planks of wood requires self-belief, and Chemmy Alcott has it in abundance.

The 27-year-old is determined to overcome adversity at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and return to the United Kingdom with Great Britain's first Alpine skiing medal.

"I feel like if everything goes perfectly on the day, I would be in with a really good chance of winning," Alcott said.

"Right now I'm strongest in the giant slalom and the super G, but I know I can pull out a result in downhill.

"Skiing is so much about confidence that if you start skiing well in one discipline, you will be a threat in all of them."

If Alcott were to return from Whistler - the venue for the Alpine ski disciplines - with a prize in her pocket, it would be a remarkable moment in a career which has stuttered since earning an 11th-placed downhill finish in Turin four years ago.

Turin was the last time Alcott saw her mother, who died suddenly a few weeks later.

Alcott then opted to cut short her season by undergoing surgery on bunions on her feet.

However, she returned to record a seventh-placed finish in the super combined in Reiteralm, Austria in December 2006 - her second World Cup top 10 and still her best result to date.

Alcott missed much of the 2008-09 season due to an ankle injury, but recorded a ninth-placed finish in the super combined in Val d'Isere, France a week before Christmas and is in buoyant mood ahead of her third Games.

That is despite funding herself through the World Cup season after the British Ski and Snowboard Federation, known as Snowsport GB, were plagued by financial problems which last week culminated in the national governing body being plunged into administration.

"All I can do is control my own journey to the Olympics and make sure my preparation, my mental strength and everything else peaks for that time," added Alcott, who is backed by Witan Investment Trust despite their own travails in the global economic downturn.

She will race in the full five-event programme in Whistler - downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super G and super combined - with her opening super combined event, which features one downhill run and one slalom run, taking place on February 14.

She believes the events she has faced - particularly the trauma of losing her mother - have made her stronger.

Alcott, who was born in Twickenham, added: "Losing my mum was so unexpected that it makes me realise how lucky I am to be doing what I'm doing and how short life can be."

Alcott recognises now is the time for her to deliver and is confident if she performs at her best, it may well be good enough to taste glory.

"I haven't had that consistency yet in a run so I know I'm going completely as an outsider, but still I've got a massive amount of self-belief," she added.