Published February 6, 2026 01:17PM
When Jess McMillan, a lifelong Jackson Hole local, professional freeskier, and Freeride World Tour legend wanted to host a new freeride competition at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, she couldn’t quite find the perfect venue. Until, that is, she realized it wasn’t Jackson Hole’s terrain that wasn’t perfect—it was that the traditional competition format wasn’t perfect for the mountain. So she created a new style of comp—one that offered the opportunity to reinvent the freeride and judging formula and debut a completely new kind of event. That’s how Kings & Queens of Corbet’s, which kicks off tomorrow (Feb. 7, 2026) and runs through Feb. 14, came to life.
“I realized the most badass new comp venue would be Corbet’s Couloir,” said McMillan, who, at the time, was in charge of special events for the resort. “It’s a notorious line, a natural amphitheater, and sure, it’d be a huckfest, but it was perfect!” As a longtime competitor, McMillan felt there was more to the sport than line scores, four-point landings, and formulaic categories. “It would be an opportunity to disrupt the usual judged categories, and empower the athletes to be the judges of each other, and to reward what they thought were the best runs.”
Kings & Queens of Corbet’s 2025 (Photo: Amy Jimmerson)
Overall, she hoped to create an event for—and judged by—the athletes, to celebrate progression, the sport, and camaraderie, simply see what unfolded in the couloir, and who the other athletes picked as winners. Despite initial skepticism, McMillan’s idea made it past the resort’s head honchos, and she sent out an invitation to the first round of athletes on January 1, 2018.
The idea was a hit, and the unique, peer-judged format is a huge part of what has helped grow the event. For Veronica Paulsen, a Jackson local who competed in the first iteration of Kings &Queens, shifting judging to the competitors was a refreshing move.
“Kings & Queens is centered on athletes: we understand the conditions, and why certain choices are made in how we ski the line, because we’ve been out there, we skied it,” Paulsen explained. “We’re all familiar with the challenges of discretionary judging—and for Kings & Queens, everyone was psyched on putting creativity and expression above perfect technique.” The Corbet’s competition, noted Paulsen, is also unrelated to rankings on any other circuit, so athletes really feel like they have the freedom to try new things.
The competition has evolved over its eight-year run. Although it began as a quirky event with a few big names plus some hard-charging local legends—remember Jeff Leger and his famous swan-dive front flip into the couloir?— it is now stacked with X-Games medalists, Olympians, and Freeride World Tour athletes. There are still unknown dark horses that pop up on the list, but the unique format and the ability to be judged for the overall impression your line makes on fellow athletes has made Kings & Queens a coveted invitation. “It’s insane the caliber of athlete it’s attracting now,” says McMillan. “But it’s still the same in that they are judging each other, and just celebrating the progression of the sport and camaraderie.”
Kings & Queens of Corbet’s 2025 (Photo: Keegan Rice)
It’s not completely without parameters: Athletes know they don’t have to adhere to the traditional rigid judging protocols like line scores or nitpicking on small differentiators, but safety and control are important. “Personally, I am looking for an overall impression—not huck and hope, but style and some control, look good, don’t get hurt!” said professional snowboarder and Freeride World Tour veteran Erika Vikander. This year, Vikander is heading into her third Kings & Queens with solid riding and judging experience.
Six-time competitor and two-time winner Karl Fostvedt likens the judging to a real-life session with friends—just with some money attached—and for that reason, says the judges get it right on the winners every year. “In this comp, you’re more likely to aim for style and innovation, rather than just spin to win tricks, because that’s the thing that everyone is going to be talking about later,” said Fostvedt. “I look for innovation, anything new that shows progression, so I’d score a zero spin—if anyone could land that—way higher than, say, a triple backflip, because it’d be so difficult, and no one has done it.”
The process after the competition takes place is simple: All the competitors gather and watch multiple angles of everyone’s run. Each athlete anonymously ranks the others on a scale of 100 for their run. “It’s personal, what each athlete might value most. I’ll be looking for runs that embody the spirit of the competition, not technical perfection, and creative use of the couloir,” said Paulsen. “It’s about whatever excites each athlete the most, though, so it’s different for everyone.”
If you’re not able to watch in person this year, the competition will be streaming on Jackson Hole’s YouTube channel.
The 6 Most Incredible Kings & Queens Run in Competition History
There’s no shortage of dazzling tricks and runs that defy the laws of gravity at past years’ Kings & Queens comps. Here are a half-dozen of the most memorable.
1. Karl Fostvedt, 2018: Fostvedt wowed his fellow competitors by buttering a 720 off the lip and stomping a high-speed backflip to a cliff
2. Veronica Paulsen, 2020: Paulsen threw—and stomped—a massive backflip off the lip to ski away with the win.
3. Trevor Kennison, 2019: Kennison wasn’t officially in the competition, but his full send straight in a sitski into the couloir won the respect of his fellow riders, who awarded him the Rider’s Choice award anyway
4. Hans Mindnich, 2021: Mindnich’s backside 360 to wall ride was innovation at its best, and blew everyone’s mind on how to use the features of the couloir
5. Jeff Leger, 2018: Local legend and character Jeff Leger sent a massive, old-school swan diving front flip off the west wall into the couloir in the inaugural competition
6. Travis Rice, 2019: Globally known pro snowboarder and local hero sends it down the couloir as smoothly as can be