Piper, celebrating her win with Tristen, left, and entering Corbet’s in the best way possible. Photos: Kings and Queens//Jackson Hole
Piper Kunst is a professional skier and artist based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and one of the most dynamic voices in the current freeride scene. Kunst won Kings & Queens of Corbet’s at Jackson Hole this year, and finished runner-up in 2023. She’s known for her powerful, expressive style and her willingness to push big-mountain terrain with creativity and control. She calls Alta Ski Area home, recently won the 2025 Victoria Jealouse Best Female Action Award for her film MIMIC, and continues to blur the border between sport and art with every line she chooses. We caught up with her as she drove back from Jackson Hole after being crowned the Queen of Corbet’s in 2026.
Where in the world are you right now?
I’m just leaving Evanston, Wyoming.
You’ve been out there since Kings & Queens?
Yeah! I stayed for a few extra days and did some sledding and hung out with Tristen (Lilly) before I go to Austria on Friday. Blizzard’s doing a product shoot, and then I’m gonna go film an episode of “Return of the Turn” with Marcus Caston.
Crazy time to go. We’re finally getting snow, and you’re off to Europe.
I’m like, “really?” I sat and did nothing all season, and now that there’s snow to be skied, I’m going to Europe (laughs).
You also just won Kings & Queens!
That’s kind of a funny one, because I did not feel prepared going into it. I was skiing hardpack and groomers for a couple months. Coming up, I was like, ‘I don’t feel like I can ski.’
How were the conditions?
They turned around. Too much snow can kind of be a bad thing, but it snowed enough to where we could still kind of send it in, so I’m happy.
You don’t necessarily seem like a person who’s gung-ho about competing. So why Kings & Queens?
That’s a pretty good explanation of me; I’m not super into the competition aspect of skiing. The skiing I do is hard mentally, and I don’t think it’s a true expression of someone’s actual skiing. There are so many variables. But, Kings & Queens is how I got my start, and now I keep going back because it’s a free week at Jackson Hole, and it’s really fun to meet new people.
You’re in it for the community.
Absolutely. For Kings & Queens, you gotta be a little crazy.
Were there any standout moments?
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I love hanging out with snowboarders, because I ski Alta pretty predominantly, and a lot of my back country friends are skiers as well. To spend a whole week with people who aren’t skiing, who are doing the same things snowboarding, I always find that to be really special.
That’s so funny. I never in a million years would think a skier would say that.
Right? I think I’ve discovered a little bit of a theory where men’s snowboarders and female skiers ride very similarly, so it’s really fun to put yourself in their shoes and follow their lines and do what they do. It’s cohesive, and it makes sense to me.
And, it forces a different sense of creativity. It pushes me, but in a way that feels less like I’m trying to keep up with a skier boy. I just feel like it fits more with female skiing.
Speaking of skier boys, you’re dating Tristen Lilly, who won the men’s side of Kings and Queens. How do you feel like skiing with Tristen changed things going into this competition?
Competition is a different story, because when I’m competing, I’m trying to stay in tune with myself and not think about other competitors, including Tristen. I’m stoked for what he ends up doing in the long run.
More generally speaking, skiing with Tristen is awesome. He has this ability to really just turn off his brain, so he can just kind of ski whatever he wants, and if I follow him, I find myself building a confidence that’s similar to his and I learn how to do things I didn’t previously think I could do. I almost put my faith in his.
Is that coming from a desire to protect yourself from injury, or are you prone to overthinking, as many of us are?
I’m more prone to overthinking. As I get older, it’s a self preservation thing where I’m like, “I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if I should do that.” As I’ve aged, I am less confident in doing things, but being able to follow Tristen and… ski the way he does, it boosts my confidence, because then I’m like, “Okay, yeah, I can do this.”
You landed the flip you’ve been wanting to do for years, right?
For three years I’ve been wanting to flip in. Shout out, Veronica Paulsen, who made it possible. That was my goal going into this competition. I thought it’d be nice to win, but I was more going to achieve that personal goal of landing the flip, and then it just happened to be that I also won.
The minute that you landed it, were you just, like, “Heck, yeah. I’m just gonna send it the rest of this line,” because the rest of the line went a little haywire.
Yeah. I was stoked. I definitely wanted to send a little bit more in the middle, but I also was like, “I’m gonna land this.” I’ve also been having knee issues, so that kind of influenced the decision there. But that happens when you ski all the time. The bottom part… that is just my inability to properly hit a park jump.
It sounds crazy saying “I can flip into Corbet’s but I can’t do a park jump.” You can size up a jump in the park more, right?
Oh yeah, it’s definitely harder. During the week, we have the opportunity to practice hitting the park jump. I’m proud of myself, because this year I practiced on the park jump more than I ever have in my life. Most of the other competitors were really amped on their tricks on the park jump, but not as confident going into the couloir. I was excited and confident about the couloir, but then I get to a park jump and my brain just kind of turns off.
You can you practice in the couloir?
No. We talked about maybe going and doing an inspection where you side slip. I’m a big fan of the no scope, because that’s the aura of the competition. The first person to drop is the first person who’s been in there in weeks.
It is so unique in the sense that there’s this big mountain, kind of fucked-up couloir that you have to jump into. And then they build jumps all the way down, and then there’s a park jump. The notoriety of Kings & Queens is that it’s a big mountain competition, and there have been Olympians who have won in their big air competitions and then come and compete and win here because they get to the park jump and can throw a double ten. That’s my bias, but I fear that sometimes the park jump takes away from the actual point of the contest.
Kings & Queens feels huge on social media now. Your flip was basically viral. Do you feel like it’s still rootsy, or has social media changed it?
Social media has changed it, but for the better. Mostly for getting kids’ names out who deserve to be featured in the industry. The social part of that really helps.
A lot of times they invite bigger names and then two weeks before those big names drop out, they scramble to find kids who are eager to compete.
Yeah, and I love that, because it gets your local shredder from Salt Lake City who no one’s really ever heard of go compete, like Nate Bromley. He just got third place, and was like, “I’ve been watching this contest for years. I have no real results or anything to back up my name, and I just podiumed.”
With the win, you have some momentum right now. What do you have planned?
I’ve got some plans for the season that were already set before even doing the comp. I don’t think the comp changed much for this season, but I do hope it gives me notoriety and ammunition in the future, pitching projects and wanting to get invited to Natural Selection and stuff like that. I hope that this gives me ammunition so people think I deserve it and know that I can do it.
Any up-and-coming talent you’re excited about?
Yeah, Hannah and those girls are the real deal. I think with a few more years of experience under their belts, they’re going to be right up with it. I think Lucy Leishman is pretty legit. I think women’s skiing is going in an exciting direction. The next generation is killing it.
I hope you put out another film at some point.
I’m actually working on a music video right now. It’s so funny to say, a ski music video. I want to do something that’s a creative ski production, but also tap into everybody’s love for music and kind of make the target audience bigger. Chris Benchetler is a big inspiration for me there on bringing your talents and your passions to a larger audience.
I feel like there’s a lot of similarities with you guys both being artists and skiing and not wanting to be like pigeonholed into a box of just putting out clips.
That is my worst nightmare, I’m gonna try to avoid that.
You’ve avoided it thus far. Final thoughts?
I’m really proud. I’m proud of Tristen and I’m happy he got this opportunity and capitalized.
