We're well into the second run now and it's flips and tricks galore. The backdrop of snow-capped mountains is absolutely stunning as Australian Scotty James pulls off a spectacular back-flip with his hands nonchalantly behind his head, but his score of 77.25 won't be enough to take him through to the final.

Former acrobat Billy Morgan finished fourth at the 2013 World Championships. Apparently, he can walk down stairs on his hands. He was preparing to follow in the footsteps of his granddad, dad and brother (a helicopter navigator) and join the navy until his snowboarding took off.

Slopestyle is an event making its Olympic debut. Competitors perform a series of tricks while riding down a course of man-made features, including jumps, rails and boxes. They are judged on overall impression including execution of tricks, difficulty, height and landing. Britain's Jamie Nicholls produced a stunning second run on Thursday to qualify automatically for the slopestyle final, which starts this morning at 08:45 GMT.

In these semi-finals there are six scoring judges and the top and bottom scores will be dropped to protect against bias. Handily, the BBC has produced a video guide to this, and all the other Olympic disciplines.

Nick Hope
BBC Sport in Sochi

"'That was absolutely flawless - yeeeea Billy!" screams Great Britain team-mate Aimee Fuller. 'That run was one of the best I've ever seen from him. Essentially it's still his safe run so who knows what we'll see in his second run!'

"Contrasting fortunes for two leading snowboard slopestyle medal contenders; Morgan is in a great position for the top-four place he needs to reach the final. However, pre-ever favourite and three-time X Games champion Mark McMorris - who is riding with a broken rib - is struggling. The Canadian is down in ninth and must deliver on the last run now - a lot of pressure!

Ed Leigh
BBC Sport snowboarding and freestyle skiing commentator

"That is what you want to see on your first run. It will do wonders for Billy's nerves and he has more to give."

And there's great news already from a British perspective as Billy Morgan produces a stunning first run to take the lead in the men's snowboard slopestyle semi-final with a score of 90.75. If Morgan can remain in the top four after his second run, he'll be through to the final.

So, what has day one got in store for me, I hear you ask. First up, it's snowboarding, with the men's slopestyle semi-finals already underway at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park and the final to follow at 0845 GMT. Strong favourite Shaun White pulled out of this event earlier this week, citing "the potential risk of injury" on a course where Norway's Torstein Horgmo had earlier broken his collarbone, leaving Canadians Mark McMorris and Seb Toutant as the likeliest contenders for gold.

Image source, Reuters

Last night's opening ceremony certainly set the stage in style as the Sochi night sky was lit up by 22 tonnes of fireworks. More than 2,900 athletes from 87 nations paraded before 40,000 people in the Fisht Stadium as president Vladimir Putin declared the Games open. There was a sprinkle of stardust as Maria Sharapova carried the flame into the stadium before it was lit in the middle of the Olympic Park by Russian former triple gold medallists Vladislav Tretiak and Irina Rodnina.

Welcome to our coverage of the 22nd Winter Olympics in the Russian resort of Sochi. Over the next 16 days, we will ski, skate, slide and snowboard together. We will dance on ice, hurtle through tunnels on tea trays, jump from great heights and even fire the odd gun shot at targets as small as golf balls.

It promises to be an unforgettable ride and it's a delight to have you on board. I just hope you've remembered your thermals.