Setting the Stage for Kings and Queens of Corbet's

Written by Brigid Mander and all photos from Amy Jimmerson taken 2/11/2021

You know the couloir. It’s famous, and it sits, resplendent, right under its also famous friend the tram. It’s a very inspiring couloir. Some people, in fact, are inspired to stay as far away as possible. Some bravely slide down it, check the tick list, and are inspired never to return. But for certain others, Corbet’s Couloir inspires feats of athletic ambition, the joy of sailing through the air, and a special ability to dazzle the minds of spectators with incomprehensible skills.

For the last four years, that’s the breed of Corbet’s adherent that shows up to this famed Wyoming cliff line every February, for the only organized competition ever held in the one and only Corbet’s Couloir. Never mind this aspirational line, with its soaring limestone walls and entry point into thin air at 10,400 feet, still strikes fear into the hearts of even the most accomplished skiers and snowboarders on a daily basis – these athletes are up for anything.

Summoned by invite only, competitors must make the mandatory huck into the couloir and generally at the fastest land speed possible based on evidence from previous years. Immediately upon landing, each individual then aims at a series of optional jumps that have been gleefully, but skillfully, constructed by the JHMR park crew before skiing through the apron to the finish.

To do well, athletes wrangle the best of all their skills, regardless of background, then send and land the most impressive feat they can muster. It’s anyone’s guess who will take the title by the end, and athletes range from famous stars to unknown up-and-comers, from backgrounds in all different disciplines.

When the invites go out to selected competitors, they take a deep breath and head to Jackson Hole. “My first impression from a couple years ago was of people hucking crazy tricks into this couloir. It looked pretty sketch, and really gnarly,” said Alex Hall, a competitor heading up from Salt Lake City. “I didn’t think I’d ever do it. But then, I got the invite. We’ll see what happens when I get there,” he says, laughing, possibly slightly nervously. We asked if he’d ever skied the line before. “Nope!” said Hall.

Competitors also admit things like the following: “I was stoked for the invite, but when I got up there, I was like…’Oh no, what did I sign up for?’” That recollection is by Veronica Paulsen, who was crowned Queen in 2020 for cleanly stomping a massive backflip into the couloir, evidence things worked out just fine.

Hall is not the only competitor who’s never seen the run in person. And importantly, the fact some have never even skied in Jackson or laid eyes on the couloir before being expected to sail into its depths is not considered a disadvantage. Even for local skiers, it’s seldom in condition to send a big, high speed air, so, proximity is not a helpful practice point.

Nonetheless, before this year’s event, we asked a few competitors how they had been getting ready for this year’s Kings and Queens.

“Have I been preparing? Uh, well, I’ve been skiing a lot! I’m getting the legs strong and hitting jumps. But I don’t know where there are a lot of big flat takeoffs into couloirs to practice, exactly,” said Sophia Rouches, a pro skier known for her backcountry and big mountain prowess. This will be her first-ever visit to Jackson.   

Defending Queen Veronica said she was planning to ski off a lot of other big cliffs in the area, but given that the snowpack has been thin till recently, she hadn’t gotten a lot of opportunities.

Hall, who also happens to be on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team, with Olympic and X-Games medals in halfpipe and slopestyle skiing, says for his preparation he has been “skiing a good amount of pow this winter.” He added he’s prepared for hardpack or bombed out landings, for good measure of course.

Hana Beaman, another Olympian, X-Games champion, and one of snowboarding’s biggest names, was strategizing from bed while resting after a big week of competing in the prestigious Natural Selection Tour. “It’s kind of a huckfest in Corbet’s, and a feel good event, you’ve just gotta go with the flow,” she said. 

Only one competitor, Jake Hopfinger, said he’d been directly preparing for the contest day. “I’ve been skiing with the intention of doing this comp. So, skiing normally, really,” says, providing useful insight into what a ski day with Jake is probably like.

To get the final authority on preparation, we turned to event mastermind, JHMR events director, and longtime professional freeskier Jess McMillan. “You really can’t prepare!” she said, giggling, but then she supplied some important details. “The athletes we invite are vetted, at the top of their game, we know they are in the gym, working on landings and training for their careers.” Essentially, they all have to wing it, according to McMillan, but she isn’t worried. “The skill level is there, they know how to do it. It’s Corbet’s! You just. . .go for it!”   

And that is Corbet’s advice at its best, for any level of aspiring Corbet’s skier or rider. See you out there next week!

The 2021 Kings and Queens of Corbet’s is set for February 16-21, 2021. Stay tuned here for details on this year’s event and athlete lineup!