Derring do, or derring don’t?
A 7-year-old skier has successfully schussed their way down a double black diamond run in Wyoming that’s been called “America’s scariest” — leaving some downhill enthusiasts more than a little piste off.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort released vertigo-inducing footage aprés the fact, showing the young adventurer — known only as Quinn — tackling Corbet’s Couloir, the most notorious run at one of the country’s most celebrated ski hills and a bucket-list activity for extreme skiiers.
“The next generation is a different breed of skier. Our Mountain Sports School helps gives [young skiers] the confidence to tackle such an incredible feat,” the caption read.
The post sparked a flurry of comments, with many armchair spectators insisting the resort was “irresponsible” to let such a young child take on such a dangerous pursuit.
“There is absolutely no reason to put a child in that kind of situation — just wrong,” said one concerned viewer.
“I think many of us who know the dangers of the mountains and skiing would be highly critical of this.,” another commenter carped. “Not at all useful at that age…. And extremely dangerous.”
“After that they should give him a beer and a couple of Tequila shots to celebrate! I mean, if we will start ’em early, why not,” someone else said, sarcastically.
But another observer had nothing but praise for the youngster.
“I’ll never forget watching my son go down Corbet’s—but he was 20! This kid is awesome,” they said.
Starting at 10,250 feet above sea level and requiring a lengthy tram ride to reach, Corbet’s Couloir is a “seriously consequential, high-speed drop onto a 45 degree slope that requires good conditions and multiple powerful, technical moves on skis or a snowboard to successfully execute,” according to local experts tetongravity.com.
The run, which begins with a significant drop into a narrow rock chute, is named for mountaineer and ski instructor Barry Corbet, who discovered it in 1960, according to resort lore. Corbet is said to have spotted “a narrow crease of snow shaped like an upside-down funnel, high up on the mountain now known as Jackson Hole.”
“Someday, somebody will ski that,” Corbet was said to have predicted at the time. The first documented attempt took place seven years later.