There’s a new king and queen in town. Twenty-four athletes dropped into the 2026 Kings and Queens of Corbet's competition on Friday, and Salt Lake City, UT, skiers Tristan Lilly and Piper Kunst made a couple's sweep of the podium.
After almost a month of dry weather through January and early February, Corbet’s Couloir at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, WY, was looking firm and bony. But just as grass was threatening to poke out down low, a much needed refresh hit the Tetons (and much of the mountain west) last week, filling in the venue for the 24 athletes to huck into Corbet’s Couloir for the 2026 Kings and Queens of Corbet’s competition.
A few feet of snow fell during the five-day weather window, which was scheduled from Monday, February 9 through Friday, February 13. Each afternoon at 4 p.m., athletes and Jackson Hole staff and ski patrol gathered to discuss the next day’s conditions, ultimately pushing it out to the very end of the weather window, where there would finally be a break in the storm.
Skiers turned out in droves on Friday to watch the ninth year of the Kings and Queens of Corbet's competition. Photo: Keegan Rice
The rules of Kings and Queens are simple: huck off the lip into Corbet’s, then put your own spin on the jumps and natural features in the apron. The athlete-judged competition, which first began in 2018, is relatively open-ended, letting invited skiers and snowboarders showcase their personal style.
Rookies and Kings and Queens vets went big into the couloir on Friday, with $50,000 of total prize money on the line, including four categories: women’s ski, men’s ski, women’s snowboard and men’s snowboard. Freestyle skiers like Alex Hackel threw down some massive tricks, embracing the venue as a slopestyle course, while freeride skiers like Tristan Lilly and 19-year-old Wyatt Gentry made the lower flanks of Corbet’s look like a Freeride World Tour comp. Piper Kunst became the second woman to land a backflip off the lip during Kings and Queens on her first run (after Veronica Paulsen’s initial backflip and subsequent win in 2020).
On Friday night, after the event had wrapped, athletes gathered to rewatch footage from the day and crown winners. Tristan Lilly won for ski men, Piper Kunst won for ski women, Jack MacDougall won for snowboard men and Ellie Weiler won for snowboard women. Lilly and Kunst took home the overall crowns for the men's and women's category, becoming the 2026 King and Queen of Corbet's. The two SLC rippers are also a couple, and we can't help but love seeing them come out on top together.
Here’s a peek into some of the moments that made up Kings and Queens of Corbet’s 2026.
Salt Lake City skier Piper Kunst became the second woman ever to land a backflip into Corbet's during the competition, a run that would win her the crown this year. Photo: Keegan Rice
Tristan Lilly made creative use of the cliff band to skier's right of the couloir, going big in the middle of the course. Photo: Keegan Rice
Quinn Wolferman, from Missoula, MT, celebrates in the finish corral. Photo: Keegan Rice
Local 19-year-old Wyatt Gentry put down a smooth run through the cliffs and massive kicker, earning fourth place for ski men. Photo: Connor Burkesmith
Valeria Festavan gears up for her drop in at the lip of Corbet's. The Park City, UT, skier would go on to take second for women's ski. Photo: Keegan Rice
Alex Hackel made the massive lip into Corbet's look smooth as butter, earning third place for men's ski. Photo: Connor Burkesmith
Though she didn't quite stomp it, Ana Eyssimont threw a huge backie to kick off her run into Corbet's. Photo: Keegan Rice
Tristan Lilly and Piper Kunst from Salt Lake City celebrate in the corral. The couple made a sweep of the overall podium, voted on by fellow athletes. Photo: Connor Burkesmith