Corbet’s Couloir at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, WY, is one of the most famous runs in North America. Many have attempted it, many have failed, and it even has its own competition.
It might be the ‘America’s Scariest Ski Slope,’ but once the snow melts, it looks even gnarlier. Check out the video above to see what’s beneath you when you ski it.
According to Wikipedia, Corbet’s Couloir is an expert ski run located at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village, Wyoming. It is named after Jackson Hole ski instructor and mountain guide Barry Corbet who famously spotted the narrow crease of snow shaped like an upside-down funnel and remarked, “Someday someone will ski that.” It was first skied by local ski patroller Lonnie Ball in 1967. It holds an international reputation among expert skiers, and has been described as “America’s scariest ski slope”.
Corbet’s Couloir is to the skier’s left exiting from the tram. It is about ten feet wide at the entrance with rock faces on three sides but opens up quickly. Entrance into the couloir requires dropping off a cornice with a free fall ranging from 10 to 20 feet (6.1 m) depending upon snow conditions and exactly where the skier chooses to drop in, landing in the fairly narrow couloir with rock walls on either side. Skiers may opt to ski down the first part of the south face, dropping the rest of the way (actually the standard route to ski the couloir), in which case the drop is less, but they must then make a quick right to steer away from the north rock face. The rest of Corbet’s is usually a powder stash because snow collects in the couloir where it is protected from both wind and sun, and relatively few people ski through. The rest of Corbet’s Couloir is essentially an average expert run after the drop.
