Next week, the Kings and Queens of Corbet’s will return to Jackson Hole for its fifth running. After a more subdued event last year due to the pandemic, it’s great to see this iconic event return in full with a weather window of February 12-18. If you didn’t know already, the Kings and Queens of Corbet’s is a one-day freeride ski and snowboard event that takes place at the legendary Corbet’s Couloir, internationally known as one of the most difficult (see intimidating) inbounds ski runs in the United States.
Kings and Queens is all about big tricks and going for broke, and we’ve seen the bar pushed higher and higher in recent years as skiers Parkin Costain and Jake Hopfinger (both back to compete this year) and snowboarder Mikey Marohn dropped the first double backflips into the couloir. Last year we saw Hans Mindnich’s wild wallride that went viral throughout the snow-riding world. The main question for this year’s event is what will the athletes be attempting to raise the bar again? Can it be raised further? I’ll be heading to Jackson shortly to find out.
Veronica Paulsen went big with the first women’s backflip into the Couloir last year. Photo: Reb Bull Content Pool.
What’s New This Year?
Other than the triumphant return of spectators and a fully live-streamed event after the pandemic made for much more subdued proceedings last year, the event will largely be the same as always except for how high the bar will be pushed by the athletes – and we won’t get a good handle on that until the event goes off.
One rad change for this year though is the inclusion of a People’s Choice Award, which will let all of us, the fans, weigh in on our favorite runs during and after the live event. Voting details will be shared on the livestream, and we the people will have until 5 p.m. MST on Friday, February 18 to make our voices heard, with the winner being announced on Saturday, February 19 along with the overall 2022 King and Queen of Corbet’s.
Karl Fostvedt is the only two-time winner of the Kings and Queens event, and he’ll be returning this year to see if he can make it three. Photo: Red Bull Content Pool.
Who’s Competing?
There’s a ton of rad competitors, both out-of-towners and Jackson locals alike, that will be dropping into Corbet’s next week. The 2018 and 2021 King of Corbet’s, Karl Fostvedt, will be leading a strong pack of male skiers that includes 2020 champ Parkin Costain, along with Jake Hopfinger, Tim Durtschi and Sander Hadley. Snowboarders include Hans Mindnich (who finished second in 2020 and 2021), along with Olympic snowboarder Yuki Kadono, and aerial mapping pilot/snowboarder Grant Giller.
On the women’s side, Madison Blackley, last year’s Queen of Corbet’s will be back, bringing her street snowboarding skills to the big mountain, as well as Canadian Audrey Hebert who rides on the Freeride World Tour and claimed second place at Corbet’s last year, and Marissa Krawczak out of Bend, Oregon. Female skiers include Molly Armanino, a climate activist out of South Lake Tahoe, and 21-year-old Piper Kunst who will be competing in the Kings and Queens of Corbet’s for her first time.
For more event info as the exact date is confirmed (snow forecasts have my predictions set at sometime February 15-18, but don’t quote me on that) and the athletes get to shredding, stay tuned here and via @jacksonhole and @redbullsnow on Instagram.
