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The Fascinating History of Corbet’s Couloir—and the Man Behind the Name

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 9:02 AM ET

If you've ever skied Jackson Hole—scratch that, if you've ever even heard of Jackson Hole, Wyoming the odds are remarkably high that you've also heard of Corbet's Couloir.

Corbet's Couloir is one of the most famous double-black ski runs in the world for a number of reasons, but who on Earth is Corbet, and why are we all so excited about his couloir?

More often than not, the moment you step off the Tram at Jackson Hole, you're greeted by a blast of arctic air, high winds, the feeling that you might fall off the world with one misstep, and the distinct smell of... waffles? As you exit the tram dock and pass Corbet's Cabin (oh, that's where the waffle smell is from) to click into your skis, you're presented with several options.

Many will ski down Rendezvous Bowl and hope the conditions are good, but those feeling daring (or being heckled into it by their friends) will hang a left turn from the top toward a formidable-looking cornice.

This cornice will lead the bravest of skiers into Corbet's Couloir—Jackson Hole's in-bounds couloir. The couloir was named not for the man who skied it first, but for the man who first believed the line was skiable in 1960

.A Jackson Hole ski instructor at the time, renowned mountaineer and skier, Barry Corbet, went for a picnic on a lovely bluebird day alongside his then-wife, Muffy Moore, and JHMR founder, Paul McCollister.

As they took in the mountains around them, Corbet reportedly looked up at the couloir above them that later became Corbet's and said, "Someday, somebody's gonna ski that."

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Seven years after Corbet dubbed the line skiable, 19-year-old Jackson Hole ski patroller Lonnie Ball did just that.

While Ball's first descent was a bit of an accident—the cornice broke as he peered over the edge, sending him into the couloir—ready or not, he stuck his landing and made history.

Corbet went on to make some of the first ski films in Jackson Hole, a legacy that's long been carried on in the area, and skied the couloir plenty while he was at it. In 1968, Corbet made a film called Ski The Outer Limits that showed footage of him doing flips into the couloir at a time when most people weren't even skiing that type of terrain.

Later that year, once he'd finished filming Ski The Outer Limits, Corbet was on a shoot in Aspen when he was in an accident.

He was shooting out of a helicopter and had loosened his seatbelt to get a better angle. When the helicopter clipped a knoll and bounced, Corbet was thrown from the aircraft.

Corbet was transferred quickly to Craig Hospital, a renowned spine injury hospital and rehabilitation center in Denver, but lived as a paraplegic from that point on.

Today, the couloir is known to many as a must-ski line at Jackson Hole and hosts the annual couloir huck-fest, Kings and Queens of Corbet's Couloir. A lot has changed since the early days of skiing it, with athletes sending tricks like double backflips, 360s, and something we're calling a Pants spin, into the line.

Corbet's story was chronicled alongside that of adaptive skier Trevor Kennison in the film Full Circle. Kennison became the first sit-skier to jump and land in the couloir. Kennison's feat made history and honored the man who saw the possible in a line thought to be impossible.

So, next time you ski Jackson Hole, whether or not you're brave enough to follow in the steps of Ball, Corbet himself, Kennison, or others, take a peek over the edge of Corbet's Couloir and think about just how far skiing has come and the next "someday, someone will ski that!"

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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