In her days as an Alpine skier, wheeching through the Chamonix Valley like there was no tomorrow, Helen Nelson thought she was in heaven. And, in many ways, she was.

She was a kid then; 13, 14, 15 years of age. Raised in Glencoe and the daughter of ski instructors, she reckons she first stepped on a slope when she was two, maybe three at the most.


By the time she was in her early teens, she was a member of the Scottish team. She headed off to France and Norway and other such places. "Training and racing in the morning and school in the afternoon - 30 of us - carnage. But just unforgettable amounts of fun."


As good as that was - and as much as those carefree days bring a smile to her face - she could top all of that on Friday if Scotland's women beat Colombia in Dubai and qualify for their first Rugby World Cup since 2010.


The fly-half is 80 minutes away from a place in the big show in New Zealand in the autumn. They'd be in a group with Wales, Australia and the host nation and five-time world champions. "It doesn't get any bigger than playing New Zealand in New Zealand in a World Cup."


This is Nelson's second crack at making it. "I've been in the team since 2016 and went through the qualifiers before. I was such a young pup that I didn't really understand it all back then. I was in the squad but wasn't sure I was good enough.


"I went and watched some of the games [the World Cup was hosted by Ireland] and just seeing the hype and excitement around it, I knew I wanted to be part of it one day."


Nelson is one of those who can tell you how hard this road has been, who can list off the defeats that moulded the spirit that exists within this group. Big whopping losses, heartbreakingly narrow losses and the occasional victory that made them believe.


"We lost heavily to Italy last year [41-20] and it hit pretty hard. That was the toughest post-game review we ever had. I was captain as well and I took it personally. I felt terrible, but then we went out in the next game and beat Wales.


"Even when we've won matches, we've never had a cruisey 20 minutes where we're so far ahead we can relax. Every time, it's a graft for all 23 of us. That creates a bond. I know every team says it, but we're very, very tight. It's like I'm out here in Dubai with a load of my mates. It's pretty special."


Their shot at the World Cup came about when that bond Nelson speaks about did for Ireland in the last seconds of a dramatic qualifier. That was an extraordinary moment.


Leading 13-5 against the hot favourites and then trailing 18-13 in the final minute, Chloe Rollie's late try levelled it and Sarah Law's conversion won it. Even now, Nelson gets goose-bumps when she tells the story.


"In that section, we were fourth seeds behind Italy, Ireland and Spain. We lost to Italy, beat Spain and then we had that incredible win in the last seconds. I still wonder how we did it.


"I was off the pitch at that stage and my heart-rate was beating fast. It was awful. Imagine having a kick with your hopes of a place at the World Cup riding on it. It makes me emotional just thinking about it. It showed how far we have come as a team.


"It's a day I'll never forget. People keep saying now that there's 80 minutes between us and the World Cup and I don't like hearing that because it blows my mind. But we're ready to play."


The squad is a mixture of gnarled veterans and bright young things, an amalgam of those players who know all about the travails of the past and those who don't. "The young guns really appreciate what has gone ahead of them," Nelson says. "Sometimes we get really nice things and we make sure to tell them it hasn't always been like this. They get it."


They've all experienced loss on the rugby field, but there's another kind of loss that's not so easy to accept or even talk about without breaking down.


In late November, their team-mate and friend, Siobhan Cattigan, passed away at the age of 26. She'd been a valued member of the set-up. Capped first in 2018, she'd played 19 times for her country, her last appearance being that World Cup qualifying win against Spain in September.


The grief remains within the squad. You can see that on Nelson's face as she begins to speak. "Some of the girls aren't ready to talk yet and others are, so it's about trying to deal with and everybody is at different stages. It's bloody tough.


"We all want to get to the point where we're talking about Siobhan. We don't want her to be forgotten. She'd been such a huge part of this journey and this team for a long time, so it's about remembering her and making sure she's recognised for getting us to this point. We're carrying her with us all the time and, if we make it to New Zealand, she'll be with us there."


You sense that no words are needed within the squad when it comes to paying tribute to their friend, that the emotion is ingrained in each and every one of them. It's hard to know if Siobhan's name will come up as part of their final preparations for Colombia, but it's a roaring certainty that her memory will be in their heads regardless.


One game to the World Cup. Scotland are ranked ninth in the word and Colombia are ranked 26th. In theory, it should be straightforward, but then you look at what Colombia did to the more fancied Kazakhstan [world ranking of 15] in their knockout game and you wonder.


Colombia played 65 minutes of that game with 14 players and still won. The Scots don't have the monopoly on passion here. They're prepared for a battle, a tight game that goes to the wire where nerves will be shredded in the final minutes. After the Ireland win, they know they can win that way, if they have to.


"Nothing comes easy, but it would mean everything if we did it. Absolutely everything."