Muhammad Abbas was Pakistan's first Winter Olympic athlete, competing in the giant slalom. He trained for two weeks in 2008 and six weeks in Austria in 2009, training under an Austrian coach. The slope he trains on in Pakistan is about 500 meters long, with a 100 meter elevation change. The Olympics were his first competition of 2010, since he did not have money to compete in other contests. The Ski Federation of Pakistan considered spending approximately $7000 on his training, but decided to save that money for future skiers.