The bingo machine used to select run order for the Kings and Queens of Corbets. | Photo: B. Witowski
The Tram Dock at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming, set the stage for what may be the wildest, most iconic on-mountain ski and snowboard competition on the planet: the 8th Annual Kings and Queens of Corbet’s. This year, 24 of the world’s most fearless athletes will drop into the legendary couloir, battling not only gravity and consequence, but each other—for a $50,000 prize purse and the coveted crown of King or Queen of Corbet’s.
The opening-night gathering was equal parts ceremony and celebration. Athlete registration, the time-honored ritual of determining start order, generous food and drinks, animated socializing, and the obligatory Ski Shot all combined to create an electric prelude to the insanity soon to come. The anticipation was intense.
Piper Kunst makes her starting position selection for the Kings and Queens of Corbet’s. | Photo: B.Witowski
The start order was decided by a literal game of chance: a rotating bingo cage filled with 24 numbered balls. One by one, athletes spun the cage and drew their number, locking in their position for competition day. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort staff turned the process into theater, stretching the suspense and drawing cheers and groans with every reveal.
SnowBrains caught up with several athletes throughout the evening. One group explained that their ideal draw position is somewhere between third and ninth. Too early, and you don’t get a feel for the conditions. Too late, and the line gets chopped up and unpredictable.
Lake Tahoe’s Nate Bromley reflected on his first encounter with Corbet’s Couloir as an eight-year-old on a family ski trip to Jackson Hole. He remembered inching to the edge, peering over the abyss, and deciding—wisely, at the time—that discretion was the better part of valor. Years later, now standing among the invited competitors, he laughed at how dramatically things had changed.
Local favorite Wyatt Gentry had a very different introduction to Corbet’s. As an elementary schooler on the JHMR youth ski team, he was casually taken through the couloir during a practice session—an initiation that would shape his comfort level in one of skiing’s most intimidating arenas.
Perhaps the most unconventional path to the competition belongs to Lake Tahoe’s Isaac Kaufman. For years, he and a group of friends made annual pilgrimages to Jackson Hole, unknowingly timing their trips with Kings and Queens of Corbet’s. Last year, the day after the competition wrapped, Kaufman sent a flip off Corbet’s that caught the attention of JHMR employees. The impression stuck—and earned him an invitation to this year’s event.
From the production crew and sponsors to resort staff and athletes, the stoke level was unmistakably high—especially with fresh snow forecast in the near term. Everything seemed aligned for another unforgettable chapter in Corbet’s history.
Unofficial Kings and Queens of Corbet’s Competition Order:
Sarka Pancochova
Madison Blackley (former Queen)
Kaz Sosnkowski
Pat Fava
Piper Kunst (former Queen)
Wyatt Gentry
Elijah Singer
Wynter McBride
Lalo Rambaud
Quinn Boutot
Nate Bromley
Windham Miller
Erika Vikander
Tristen Lilly
Kelly Hilleke
Ana Eyssimont (reigning Queen)
Alex Hackel
Jack MacDougall
Yuki Kadono
Valerie Festavan
Isaac Kaufman
Ellie Weiler
Kendall Goodman
Dani Bacher
The competition will be live-streamed on the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort YouTube channel on the still-to-be-determined “Go Day,” when conditions align and Corbet’s Couloir once again demands everything from those bold enough to drop in.