Torah Bright will need standout results across two continents in less than ten days if the two-time Games medal winner wants a tilt at becoming Australia's most successful Winter Olympian.
The snowboarder made a low key comeback to the halfpipe last month in a second tier event in Colorado, winning and coming second over consecutive days.
But she'll require a significant step up against much stiffer competition in World Cup events in the US and Europe later this month where she'll likely need to finish top six in both competitions to secure a start at a fourth Games.
"She'll have to go to the last two World Cups (Aspen, Colorado and Laax, Switzerland)," said head of Australia's Olympic Winter Institute, Geoff Lipshut.
"She's actually going to need a couple of very solid results. I'd say a couple of top sixes - which she is capable of."
But Lipshut, who admitted having had no communication with Bright and being a little surprised at her comeback, issued some words of caution.
"Torah hasn't done much yet," he said of the 31 year-old who has competed in just one major event since the Sochi Games of 2014.
"We'll see. She's a fantastic athlete and as we all know, she's a great rider.
"It's just - how much has the sport improved since she last competed?"
The answer appears to be quite a bit with a new generation of Americans including Chloe Kim and Maddie Mastro and rapidly improving Chinese riders such as Xuetong Cai and Jiayu Liu making massive strides in the sport.
Bright has won Games gold (Vancouver 2010) and silver (Sochi 2014). No Australian has won three medals, although aerial skier Lydia Lassila (gold, bronze) is also expected to contend for a medal in South Korea.
Emily Arthur, a world junior bronze medallist and youth games runner-up is expected to head the Australian women's halfpipe contingent in Pyeongchang with three-time Olympian Holly Crawford also a show of qualifying.
The Aspen World Cup event starts on January 11 with qualifying for Laax beginning just three days after its conclusion, on January 16.
