Claire Mcpherson lands her jump at the bottom of Corbet's Couloir. | Red Bull photo pool.
Claire McPherson is a badass. This year’s Queen of Corbet’s won the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort's sixth annual competition before quickly traveling home to British Columbia to compete in an international free skiing qualifier. The 19-year-old just finished school (over zoom unfortunately, thanks Covid), where she completed a firefighting program that will allow her to continue skiing all winter and fight wildfires in the summer. Teton Gravity Research was able to catch up with Claire and talk about her recent win at Corbet’s.
Has Corbet's been on your radar for a while? Was that something that you always wanted to compete in?
Yeah, I've always watched it on TV for the past few years, and I've always loved it. I saw the things people were doing, and I was like, “oh, maybe maybe I could do that.” Then last year I got an invite, but I was going to college and my professor wouldn’t let me go.
Since then, it's really been on my radar, but I didn't think I was gonna get invited this year. I hadn't got an invite, and then the Thursday before the competition I got a call.
I kind of just said yes, and I was so stressed about getting down there in time that I didn't even have time to think about the competition.
Was there any specific preparation or things that you kept in mind when you were going into the competition?
I wish I had a little bit more time to prepare, I hadn't hit the park in over a year. My resort at home doesn't have a park, so the scariest part for me was actually the jumps at the bottom. I ended up just hitting the smaller [jump] which, I think in the future, I'll take a few days to prepare and actually get my park skills back up and do something better at the bottom.
I'd say backflip is probably my most comfortable trick. I was planning on going a lot bigger into the couloir. And then I just saw everyone crashing and I was like okay, “let's just play it safe and do something that I know 100% sure I will land.”
Claire Mcpherson receiving the grand prize of ten thousand dollars at the Corbet's award ceremony held on Saturday, February 11. | Red Bull photo pool.
What's your favorite thing about freeride?
I'd say my favorite part is the freedom of it. You can really express yourself in different ways. I feel like big mountain skiing - it's always changing, so it doesn't feel boring. You can always be so creative with it.
What's your favorite competition that you look forward to every year?
Honestly Kings and Queens was by far one of my favorite competitions I've ever been in. It was just different in that everything was really focused on the athletes, and athletes have a lot of input into the competition. They just gave you time and they really cared about you. That was really great to see.
What's going through your head when you are at the ceremony and being awarded first place?
It honestly didn't sink in until the next day. I was in shock. Honestly, I wasn't overly expecting it. I didn't want to get my hopes up at all. It was a big surprise.
mbebef
March 2nd, 2023
Congratulations to Claire McPherson for her first win at Kings and Queens! She is an inspiration to all of us, proving that hard work and dedication can lead to great achievements. Her courage and determination should be applauded, gia grading especially since this is her first victory in the competitive arena of Kings and Queens. This victory is a testament to the fact that anything is possible when you put your mind to it! Let’s all raise a glass to the newest champion of Kings and Queens!
Hayarpi
August 23rd, 2023
Claire McPherson’s triumph at Corbet’s is awe-inspiring. Her fearless skiing and dedication, combined with insights into preparation, show her remarkable journey. Kudos to Claire for taking the freeride world by storm! | shower remodel orlando