When we last left the Salomon Jib Academy Final in Mammoth, the crew was basking in the California sunshine, lapping the Unbound park like there was no tomorrow. That was only slightly true, with two full days of skiing remaining, including a private sunset shoot on Tuesday evening that was open to all.

The Mammoth park ended up empty in the mid-afternoon hours as the riders got some rest and the slew of filmers headed back to home base for battery recharging and preparation for the night to come.

The sunset session consisted of the big jump in the park, which clocked in at around 60ft, along with the famous deck rail, while laps were quick thanks to a couple of sleds and even a cat for real people-moving goodness.  This all worked out to non-stop action, once Sammy christened the evening with a nice big first hit switch 7.

Waterville winner Nick Martini was throwing down as per usual with the rest of the crew ready to go up top.

Christophe LaCombe won the Mont Sainte Anne stop in Quebec and was breaking out the super flippy mistys all week. 

Cody Ling - straight from Minnesota with a high mute.

Some of the crew along with the helpful Mammoth Staff.  Thanks again guys!

Henrick Harlaut's outfit was the only one that stood out enough to make this angle look decent.  Here's a switch 5 double japan.

Any concerns regarding the amount of people at the session and corresponding lap times disappeared with 15 people tows from the Cat. I would have enjoyed some synchronized routines from the crew on the way up but they were probably too busy beging stoked out on their first big shoot.

Sammy with the switch 9 tail.  Sammy was in front of the MSP lens for most of the week, so don't forget to check his segment for all the action.

Godfather of newschool, and new Dad himself, Mike Douglas took time away from content-gathering and babysitting duties to show the young ones that he's still got it. "D-Spin, D-Spin, D-spin" was the loudest chant of the night, and Mr. Douglas certainly didn't disappoint.

Henrick again holding it down for Sweden.  Double nose.

It's been a while since I've seen Mark Abma in a terrain park, but he certainly hasn't missed a beat.  I guess when you're used to charging so hard in the BC, a perfectly manicured landing doesn't seem so scary anymore.

Nick Martini again!

Peter Olenick was also out getting some shots for his segment. Pete was loving the misty-5s, switching from the single ski grab to the double and tossing in ever-solid switch spins. 

Abma again with the japan.

Pete did some japans too!

Matt Walker also showed up to session the kicker and entertained with a non-stop series of double grabs.  My favourites would have to be mute-to-tail, and both japans. 

Here's Pete with the double grab.  Kind of looks like his knees are bending the wrong way, but don't worry it's just the effect of the large pants.

A few more hits on the jump as the light gets low.

Then the session was moved to the deck rail where people with big flash setups got better photos than these.

After the excitement of the previous night's shoot, Wednesday wasn't what you'd call an early morning, but we were still able to enjoy the still sunny skies for a few hours before the Mammoth slush eventually poached all the speed away. To end the week, we almost managed to get kicked out of the hotel restaurant before our wrap up get-together that featured a slideshow of the weeks best shots and the much anticipated prize-giving.  After Sammy stole the show by stealing top prize it was announced that the $1000 grand prize would be split between the riders in attendance and that Nick Martini was the lucky recipient of a trip to next winter's King of Style competition in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Huge thanks to Salomon and Mammoth for hosting the media and the riders for the week.  Word is that Jib Academy will be on again, bigger and better, for next year.  So get those fake 16 and under IDs going and start training to get yourself to the final in '08. 

Congrats again to all the Jib Academy riders:  Anna McGee (Utah), Nick Geopper (Indiana), Kyle Wallace (Tahoe), Christophe LaCombe (Quebec), Nick Martini (Waterville), Elias Ambuhl (Switzerland), Max Fornier (France), Jeremy Coletta (France), Henrick Harlaut (Sweden), Cody Ling (Minnesota), Thomas Krief (France), and Jean Marc Favre (France).

Enjoy the video and see you next year!

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