At just 22, Montana’s Parkin Costain has the credentials of one of the best big-mountain freeride skiers in the world. In 2020, at just 20 years old, he won the King and Queens of Corbet’s contest. The kid is ultra smooth. Take this scary line for example. He deftly picks a route through the cliff face, then throws a beautiful three off the first hit, followed by a sizeable backflip over…..an avalanche? As Parkin was filming for his new film, MIXTAPE, last year, the face of the mountain he was riding gave away in the middle of his line.
“I’ve witnessed plenty of slides from the sidelines but never first hand,” he wrote about the incident. “Fortunately, last year shooting for MIXTAPE everything played out in our favor. Looking back mistakes were made and lessons were definitely learned. I’m stoked to head into this season with an increased appreciation for how powerful these mountains are.”
Yep, it’s not entirely clear if he even knew the face above him had given away when he was finishing his line. His team, and the rest of the skiing world, was grateful that things turned out the way they did.
Editor’s Note: Learn to make smart, safe decisions on your quest for untracked powder in the Essential Guide to Backcountry Basics and Avalanche Awareness with splitboard aficionado Nick Russell and avalanche instructor Sam Thackeray.
