The First Man To Ski Corbet's Couloir: Lonnie Ball

Ian Greenwood
·2 min read
3

Corbet's Couloir is one of the nation's most famous in-bounds lines.

Located at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming, many presume that the imposing run was first skied by someone named "Corbet."

That common misconception is reasonable—it's called Corbet's, after all—but not correct. The real Corbet's first descent was completed by a man named Lonnie Ball.

This video from Stannyland tells Ball's Corbet's story.

In 1960, a ski mountaineer named Barry Corbet spied the line and claimed, "Someday someone will ski that," hence becoming the Couloir's eponym. And Corbet, who went on to become a leader in the disability community after a severe back injury, was right in his speculations.

Seven years later, a 19 year old Lonnie Ball decided to take a look at the yet-to-be-skiied Corbet's Couloir. The Couloir was suddenly more accessible thanks to the opening of Jackson's Big Red tram. Ball wanted to know if the Couloir really was skiable, as Corbet speculated.

Then, the cornice at the top of the Couloir—which he was standing on—broke, the universe making Ball's decision for him. For an audience of tram goers, Ball somehow stuck the line as the cornice collapsed.

His greatest concern afterward? His job. Ball was a patroller at Jackson Hole, and since he'd been spotted from the tram riding the then-closed Couloir, he thought he might get whacked.

Thankfully, the cornice collapse proved to be an effective defense. When asked if he meant to ski the Couloir, Ball answered "no," which was technically the truth, allowing him to keep his job at the resort.

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