Veronica Paulsen: Where the Rabbit Hole Leads

Some lines sit in your peripheral vision for years. Always visible. Always waiting.

The Central Couloir on Cody Peak is one of those lines; a steep, committing descent containing exposure, a rocky choke, and a mandatory cliff. It’s not a line you just stumble into, and it’s not one you rush. For Jackson-based skier Veronica Paulsen, it was a line that was in the back of her mind for almost a decade.

We caught up with Veronica to talk about the path towards skiing Central, gaining trust after her injury, and what it means to step into consequential terrain with composure and confidence.

I think as skiers we are constantly seeking to push our limits and see what we are capable of. Central Couloir is a line that’s been on my mind since I moved here 10 years ago because I knew it would challenge me both mentally and physically. Accomplishing it feels like I’ve taken my skills to a new level.

Central has been in the back of my mind since I moved here 10 years ago. It’s hard to ignore it because it’s right there on every blue bird day. However, it took me a long time to actually want to ski it. Once I had ticked off a lot of the other steep and challenging lines around the Jackson Hole backcountry, I finally felt ready to tackle Central.

I was excited to finally get it done. It doesn’t matter how much you prepare mentally, you won’t know what it’s actually like until you drop in, and by the time we were dropping in, I was just excited to experience it.

I’ve looked up to Andrew as a skier and a human for a long time. I knew he would be the perfect person to help me accomplish this goal because of how thoughtful and encouraging he is. Even though he skis these absolutely insane lines, he makes sure to fully think through every single turn until he is fully mentally prepared, and that’s exactly what I needed for this.

Mentally the biggest challenge for me was learning to trust myself again after my injury. I had been physically cleared by my doctors, but mentally, it’s hard to get past the memory of an intense injury like that. So, leading up to our descent I took baby steps and got myself into other consequential lines that I had done lots of times before, just to help me remember that I still had those skills that I’ve built over years of experience.

I just felt so proud of myself. I kept my cool in there, made it down safely, and had fun along the way, and that’s all I wanted to do.

For me, this descent represents a huge step up in what I know I’m capable of now. Looking back on that descent, give me so much confidence to trust myself in the mountains and in exposure.

Skiing Central has given me so much confidence to set more goals in terrain like that. Now I know that I can handle that kind of exposure, even in less than ideal conditions. It’s definitely made me want to explore more lines like this in the Tetons and even to test my skills further in the Alps!

Transformative.

Everything about this mission was a huge learning opportunity for me. Spending time skiing with Andrew I saw how he approaches the mountains with composure and patience and how important that is when you’re tackling big lines. Coming back from injury, I learned that you can’t just ignore or push down the fear you’re feeling. You have to accept it, and take small steps to overcome it and get back to where you were before. Also in our research for this episode we were able to hear so many amazing stories of descents on Cody Peak from back in the day, which made me feel so connected to the Jackson community and so appreciative to be a part of it!

Skiing the Central Couloir was all about trust. Trust in preparation, trust in partnership, and trust in herself after injury. What stands out most in Veronica’s reflection isn’t conquest, but composure: the willingness to move slowly, accept fear, and take deliberate steps forward.

In terrain where mistakes carry weight, progression doesn’t always come from pushing harder. Sometimes it comes from listening more closely; to the mountains, to your partners, and to yourself. For Veronica, Central wasn’t an end point, but a beginning: a renewed confidence to explore, set bigger goals, and continue learning in the Tetons and beyond.

Watch Veronica’s latest video below, which captures this Central Couloir mission in full.