Ghanaian 'Snow Leopard' Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong has failed in his bid to become his country's first Olympic skier.

The 31-year-old former indoor ski centre receptionist from Milton Keynes in central England had set his sights on competing in Turin this month despite seeing a snowy mountain for the first time only three years ago.

He failed to qualify after travelling to races as far afield as Iran over the past year to try and improve his points rating.

"He's not going to be competing, he didn't reach the points target," David Jacobs, the British junior team coach who has taken the would-be Olympian under his wing, told Reuters.

The skier needed to lower his points handicap to 140 and after 12 races had reduced it from 1,000 to 212. Jacobs said he would have undoubtedly made it had he been able to afford to get to far-flung races and had other events not been cancelled.

Glasgow-born Acheampong, who grew up in Ghana, made his competitive debut in a giant slalom in Meribel, France, a year ago.

Dubbed the 'Snow Leopard' by local supporters, he gave up his job in pursuit of an improbable dream that has drawn comparisons to hapless British ski jumper Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards and Jamaica's Olympic bobsledders.

The dream included being stranded for two days with no money at Amsterdam airport after a flight was cancelled and then arriving in Iran without any equipment after his luggage was lost en route.