Nerves and Triple Backflips: Two Athletes Prime Us for Kings & Queens of Corbet’s
The Kings & Queens of Corbet’s competition is set to kick off on Friday at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR). Earlier in the week, conditions in the couloir were icy, hard-packed, and generally scary. But a winter storm delivered over a foot of snow just in time for the competition.
Now Corbet’s is locked and loaded, the athletes are primed, and the big air action is impending.
GearJunkie spent the week watching as JHMR prepared the course, and we caught up with two of the athletes ahead of the competition. Wyatt Gentry, 19, and Tristian Lilly, 24, sat down with us to discuss the conditions, their goals, how they choose their lines, and some of the rumors circulating among the athletes.
Gentry and Lilly have both competed in the Kings & Queens competition before. Gentry is a Teton Valley local who grew up skiing Jackson Hole and worked at its famous Waffle House for two summer seasons with his brothers.
Lilly is from Bethel, Maine, and currently resides in Utah, where he skis at Alta — and, as he said, “wherever the snow is good.”
After a week of anticipation and months of preparation, they’re ready to send it into the Couloir. When we spoke, they’d just gotten back from snowmobiling with several other competitors, and snow was falling hard outside on the mountain.
Kings & Queens of Corbet’s: Q&A With Wyatt Gentry and Tristian Lilly
GearJunkie: From your perspective as athletes, what makes Corbet’s a unique freeride competition?
Tristian Lilly: The one thing that makes it unique, and honestly my favorite part about it, is that it’s athlete-judged. You’re not worried about what line score is going to be the best score, this or that, or who’s sitting in the hot seat. They don’t give us any criteria to judge by either. So it really just is like, what did you see that felt right to you? That’s kind of the way that I see it. I’m going to vote with my heart every time.
Wyatt Gentry: I think the other part about it is that on the day of the competition, it’s really just a great time being out there with all your buddies that you’ve been skiing with all week. For me, I didn’t really think about it as a competition on the day of. I’m just trying to do what I love best and get down and show what I can do for everybody.
What are your thoughts on the conditions this year?
WG: I live here, so we’ve been seeing it as it’s been going, and it’s just been getting firmer and firmer as the wind came and was hitting it really hard. And it definitely got me a little scared knowing that I was going to be hucking in a week and a half. And even after that first day of lip build, I was a little bit worried. But over these last couple of days, we’ve gotten a storm that’s really making it into a good event again.
There’s been some talk going around about a triple backflip this year … Do you know anything about that?
TL: I’ve heard rumors out there from more than one person.
WG: If it happens, it’d be crazy.
When you’re standing up there getting ready to drop in, how do you psych yourself up?
WG: For me, it’s just taking a deep breath and bringing your head down and getting grounded. You don’t want to be so amped up that you just overthink it and get in the clouds. On the day of the comp last year, I was just kind of caught off guard when it was my turn. Like they were like, “All right, walk up and go and do it.” And I was like, “Okay, I guess here we go.” And that actually helped me because I didn’t have time to overthink it.
TL: I have no problem psyching myself up. The problem is not psyching myself up. The problem is definitely cooling myself down. I get nervous and excited.
How do you pick the trick you’re going to do, or your line?
TL: I think part of not hyping myself up too much is kind of like rolling with the punches a little bit, too. I don’t have a solid plan on exactly what lip I’m going to drop or exactly what I’m going to do. You know, I think there are two or three ideas for things that I definitely want to do off the top. And I’m going to kind of settle in, watch people go and pick the line that looks the best, and pick the thing that looks feasible off that lip.
WG: At the beginning of this week, I had a very solid plan coming in. I was just like, “All right, conditions aren’t quite as good as previous years, so I’m just going to keep it easy off the top and just try and make it down.” But as the snow has been building up, it’s just been taking me out of that mindset. I’m going to go with the flow.
Does the group of athletes change the dynamics of the competition year to year?
WG: It is definitely interesting not being a rookie when there are 13 rookies this season. Being up there with everybody every day, you hear everyone’s ideas, and it opens your mind a little bit more because everyone comes to this event and sees that couloir differently. And from hearing other people this year — except for the people who want to do a triple backflip — it’s helped me figure out what my run is going to be this year.
What are your goals for this year’s competition?
TL: My main goal is just to walk away proud. No matter what.
WG: Winning is always the goal, but honestly, I’m taking it step by step. And my first goal is to make it to the bottom on that first run. And then in my brain, I’m hoping that the run that I put down is good enough to win.
Is there anything you want to tell people who are going to watch?
TL: Tune in. I think it’s going to be a fucking good one.
WG: I think it doesn’t matter what the conditions are. We’ve got a good crew this year, and it’s going to be a good time.
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