Rowdy and Raw: Reactions to Kings & Queens of Corbet's 2022

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Snowboarder Hans Mindnich crowned King of Corbet’s 2022 at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Yuki Kadono places second

Have you ever dropped into Corbet’s Couloir? How about dropping into it when its filled with subpar snow that vacillates from chundery ice balls to sheer ice sheets, with some semi-soft spots sprinkled in? How about during wild mountain weather with howling wind and wafts of snow gumming up your visibility?

How good did you make it look?

Did you drop in during a livestreamed event that’s broadcast out to the world via 15 cameras, including three FPV drones, run by an army of cameramen and support teams who work tirelessly to transmit your run into livestreams that are accessible to every Jerry from here to Timbuktu? Have you hit Corbet’s in front of a swelling crowd armed with their iPhones capturing your run from the bottom, which they quickly upload to social networks for all to gawk, jeer, and cheer at?

If you’ve done this, than you’re a badass (and one of the 24 invited competitors that were brave enough to show up and throw down at this year’s Kings & Queens of Corbet’s at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort).

Now in its fifth year, Kings & Queens has steadily grown up, and established itself as one for the gnarliest freeride competitions of the year. Unlike any other event, it pits snowboarders and skiers head-to-head. The number of planks or poles or boards one has under their feet doesn’t matter. All that matters is how stylishly and impressively each competitor can huck their meat into the sea of snowy uncertainty. There is no judging panel. The judges are the riders and athletes themselves. They are not only tasked with riding well but also have to meticulously decide which of their peers should take the crowns as King and Queen.

Kings & Queens of Corbet’s is inherently nuts. Read on and be awed. Shout of to all the riders and competitors and especially Hans Mindnich and Yuki Kadono for taking first and second place for the men, respectively. But everyone, from the organizers to the event staff to the on-hill support and beyond, is a King and Queen in my book.