By Mark Staniforth, PA Sport, Salt Lake City

Alain Baxter will fly back to a hero's reception in Edinburgh later this week while the British Ski and Snowboard Federation attempts to capitalise on the fame of their sport's new standard bearer.

Baxter won Great Britain's first ever Olympic alpine medal with a surprise bronze in the slalom on Saturday.

And Britain's former World Cup downhill racer Graham Bell, now the BSSF's performance director, is beginning to set targets for the Turin Winter Games in four years' time.

Baxter's medal aside, the performances of the British alpine team gave cause for plenty of encouragement.

Ross Green finished an excellent 15th in the men's combined. Noel Baxter, Alain's half-brother, came 21st in the slalom. And teenager Chemmy Alcott, who competed in all five women's alpine disciplines, finished 19th in the combined.

But Great Britain's Chef de Mission Simon Clegg said Baxter was an example of an athlete who had succeeded despite, not because of, the system.

Funding for British snow sports has been steady for the last six years. Despite sport's percentage of lottery funding slowly reducing, the Sports Council funds the BSSF to the tune of £160,000 which is split between all the alpine disciplines.

Britain's performance director Graham Bell, himself a former World Cup skier, says the days are gone when he and his brother Martin would park a caravan at the bottom of the slopes in Aviemore just to get in some practice.

Bell said: "We've constantly produced top-class skiers over the year, we've had Konrad Bartelski and Martin and myself and we've had performances which have knocked on the door of a Winter Olympic medal.

"We've got enough skiers in this country but to be a top-level skier you've got to start between five and seven. Seven's late. You need to be racing by 11, and 11 is late. Between 11 and 14 you need to be doing 12 weeks a year."

Baxter's coach Christian Schwaiger said he had high hopes for the current generation of British skiers, but that it was the sport at its grass-roots level, which is run by clubs rather than the BSSF, which needed restructuring to ensure a steady stream of talent.

Bell has already turned his attentions to Turin in 2006.

"When we get closer to Turin I hope we've got more than one who's in with a shout. We have Noel, Gareth Traynor, Finlay Mickel and Chemmy.

"And there are also others who you would be looking to make the team for Turin. In four years, they will be as old as Noel and Gareth are now."