Sizing up Corbet's for Kings and Queens
Written by Jeff Burke- Jackson Hole Ski Patrol.
Cradled by an amphitheater of towering limestone cliffs, Corbet’s Couloir is the most iconic, storied ski run in the Western world. Perched high on the north face of Wyoming’s Rendezvous Mountain, Corbet’s legendary reputation as the proving ground has drawn countless thrill-seeking skiers and riders to Jackson Hole for a half century.
Corbet’s in its entirety.
From a distance, the steep couloir looks formidable, but doable—that is, until aspiring adventurers ski upon the dizzying entrance. For most casual skiers, it’s the closest they’ll come to witnessing the gates of oblivion. Just to peer into the couloir itself, your skis or board literally hang into the abyss. And like growing up, there’s no easy to do it.
For some people, looking into Corbet’s is enough of a thrill.
There is but one maxim: stick the first turn. Do that, and you’re a god—if only for a moment. If not, you risk cart-wheeling down the 40-degree slope, losing skis, goggles and pride to a crowd of adrenalized onlookers who see you as an object of ridicule, pity and derision.
Everyone who plunges into Corbet’s is forever transformed one way or another. Whether it’s ego, peer pressure, or guilt, you’ve got to go all in when you drop into the void. Those who go into Corbet’s half-assed, blow it. And far from everyone who commits 100% sticks that first turn. I’ve lived in the valley for more than two decades, and work as a ski patroller for the mountain resort. I myself have stared into the gaping maw hundreds of times. For every ten times I look into Corbet’s, nine times I turn around. For that one time I commit, one in three I pull clean. The other two, I cluck around searching for missing skis or pieces of my dignity.
Stick the first turn. . If not, you risk cart-wheeling down the 40-degree slope, losing skis, goggles and pride.
To watch someone send with style and grace is to see living art. And so, with the second annual Kings and Queens of Corbet’s freeride competition, we get to see an assembly of world-class competitors come together and showcase equal parts creativity and skill as they strive for the 2019 crown. Four thousand feet above the valley floor, Corbet’s Couloir will transform into an alpine colosseum as twenty-five proud athletes will stake a claim for Wyoming royalty in Jackson’s own unique mountain arena.
More Kings and Queens of Corbet’s
Griffin Post airs over the “Goat Path” during last years Kings and Queens event.