Jackson Hole Reveals Athlete Roster and Dates for Kings & Queens of Corbet's 2027

Another season, another edition of the famed Kings & Queens of Corbet’s competition.

The event, which involves hucking off the sheer entrance of the titular Corbet’s Couloir, will touch down at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, sometime between February 6 and February 13, 2027, weather-dependent.

Here’s what you need to know.

Meet the Skiers

Women’s Ski

• Hannah Epsteyn
• Valerie Festavan
• Wynter McBride

Men’s Ski

• Wyatt Gentry
• Alex Hackel
• Kelly Hilleke
• Isaac Kaufman
• Tristen Lilly
• Quinn Wolferman

These are just the confirmed competitors so far. More wildcards are set to be announced.

The 2027 cast of skiers includes returning champs and fresh-faced rookies.

Tristen Lilly is the reigning King, having knocked out a pitch-perfect run that kicked off with a front flip and included a dizzying array of tricks—plus one massive cliff drop. It’s no small feat in the Couloir, where a skier’s ability to stay upright is as important as the freestyle moves. Lilly kept it more than clean, though.

He’ll have plenty of competition from the other guys. Alex Hackel, a regular contender, is back, as is Kelly Hilleke, the high-flying ripper who chucked a double into the Couloir last winter. Hometown hero Wyatt Gentry adds to the roster along with Isaac Kaufman. 

For something different, watch Quinn Wolferman. Known more for park skiing than big mountain, the skier showed up to the Couloir last winter and, during his first-ever run on the imposing terrain feature, laced some clean switch tail butter action off the top. 

The smaller women’s ski field is also stacked. Both Valerie Festavan and Wynter McBride have experience in Corbet’s. Festavan teed it off last season with freestyle flavor, nailing a mid-line 360 and a stomped 540 off the money booter at the bottom. McBride’s a Freeride World Tour contender with plenty of experience on steep, imposing faces. The two skiers snagged second and third, respectively, in 2026.

Finally, there’s newcomer Hannah Epsteyn who, at 18, is already shaping up to be a freerider worth keeping tabs on. She first blew up at Sugar Bowl’s 2025 Silver Belt, where she stomped a double backflip to take the win.

Then, Epsteyn competed in both the Natural Selection qualifiers and finals. It’s been a busy few seasons for her and, in Jackson, she’s certainly in contention to be the next Queen. 

The Inside Line: Hannah Epsteyn

The back-to-back-to-back invitationals weren’t, as you might expect, Epsteyn’s original plan. She’s from Reno and grew up in the junior IFSA circuit, a classic path for groms who, one day, want to qualify for the Freeride World Tour. That was Epsteyn’s approach, too—and, overall, still is—but more than a few nice surprises have recently appeared for the young skier.

For one, trying the Silver Belt was new and fun. The event shares some similarities with Kings & Queens, namely the judging approach, which relies on athlete votes rather than a panel. Epsteyn found she liked it.

“It was a super cool opportunity,” she said. “I mean, it’s such a different format than IFSA competitions. They’re more textbook, whereas the Silver Belt competition was a bit more creative.”

After the Silver Belt event, the invites kept rolling. This time, pioneering freeskier Mike Douglas called her about joining the series he then directed: Natural Selection Ski. Unsurprisingly, Epsteyn was in. 

She cleaned up at the qualifier—called Super Sessions—and punched a ticket to the big show in Alaska. There, she was surrounded by big names and up-and-comers a few years her senior, like Michelle Parker, Astrid Cheylus, and Colby Stevenson. She was only 17.

“They were so nice and had so much experience, which was super helpful,” Epsteyn said. “They helped me a bunch, and it gave me better skills with risk management and visually inspecting and all that more intense stuff that I had never really seen in junior comps.”

The knowledge she gleaned should prove helpful in Jackson. Epsteyn’s checked out the Couloir but hasn’t skied it. The event will be her first time dropping into the chute. 

“I am a bit nervous. It’s a pretty big feature,” she admitted. But mostly, Epsteyn added, she’s stoked. So is her dad, whom she rang after receiving the invite.

“He’s so funny,” Epsteyn said. “Every time I’ve gotten big news like this, he freaks out more than I do.”

Now, the focus is on preparation. Epsteyn’s hitting the gym to ready herself for the impacts Corbet’s can bring. As for on-snow training, I wondered if she’s planning to hit cliffs with flat landings to get a feel for launching off the Couloir. Her response was affirmative.

As for tricks, we’ll have to wait and see. Epsteyn offered a list of what she wants to try—conditions dependent—but only off the record. She did share a general overview of her strategy, though: amplitude is the goal, which makes sense given the enormous double that put her on the map.

“I feel like Kings & Queens is kind of a people pleaser, so definitely more on the going big,” she said.

If it all sounds like a whirlwind, it is. Epsteyn also started college this year. That might be too much to juggle for some, but Epsteyn didn’t seem too fazed. Along with Corbet’s and the schoolwork to come, she plans to hit the freeride qualifying circuit and, if the stars align, make the Freeride World Tour.

“But I am new to all the adult comps, so I’m just gonna see how it goes,” she said.

What Is Kings & Queens?

Never heard of Kings & Queens? Just seen the wild highlight clips on Instagram? The competition, first introduced in 2018, stands out in a few ways.

For one, there’s the Couloir itself. An iconic bit of mountain madness that’s become synonymous with Jackson, Corbet’s may be North America’s most famous inbounds test piece. The average skier can give it a try via the more humble goat path entrance, but, among the pros or the brave, it’s long been associated with huge, gutsy airs. Pointing it off the top always draws attention. Few freeskiing events revolve around such a magnetic and singular feature.

The competition’s athlete-driven nature adds another wrinkle. Increasingly, new skiing events are opting for an athlete-voting method where skiers—not judges and established criteria—determine the winners. This approach tends to promote more variety from run to run, since there’s no pre-established path to victory.

It also gives Corbet’s a casual jam session vibe: whoever can stoke out the other skiers the most wins, even if they have a few bobbles or backslaps in their run. You can think of it like going hunting for cliffs on a powder day with your pals, just on a grander scale.

For prize money, first place in each division earns $5,000, second earns $3,000, and third earns $2,000. The competition also names one highest-scoring King and one Queen, who each earn an additional $5,000.

Where To Watch

The competition starts at 10 a.m. MST and will stream live for free on jacksonhole.com and JHMR’s YouTube channel. You can also watch in person at the resort.

The 2026/27 print issue of POWDER Magazine is here. Click here to have a copy shipped to your front door. Copies can also be found on newsstands at major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and more.

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