Salomon Jib Academy Finals Day 2

Words & photos by Jeff Schmuck

Day 2 of Salomon Jib Academy Finals went down yesterday under more sunny skies here in Mammoth, California, and everyone in attendance is having more fun than a fat kid at McDonalds.


Following the first day of high flying action and an afternoon of fun at the skate park, Alphe Bourdeau, Lucas Brown, Tom Damiani, Simon Gingras, Emma Hogland, Frederick Iliano, Lauri Kivari, Max Moffatt, Johan Niemi, Christian Nummedal, Aleksi Patja and Dylan Sondrup were up and at em at the crack of dawn to make their second mark in the Unbound Terrain Park, and suffice to say, the level these kids are skiing at has been an absolute sight to behold.


After a piping hot morning and afternoon of shredding where smiles were being dispersed as often as sunscreen, everyone took a bit of a breather to prepare for the evening's sunset shoot on the two jump line at the bottom of the park.


All 12 Salomon Jib Academy Finalists, the Salomon team (including recent arrivals Mark Abma, Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad) and a host of filmers and photographers were on hand to participate, check out and document the action, and despite the windy conditions, things got wild real, real quick.


As the athletes warmed up on the jumps and big mountain specialist Chris Rubens yard saled (and then landed) his first ever butter hand drag 360 (which was a gut busting highlight for everyone who had the pleasure of witnessing it), the sun began to disappear on the horizon, allowing us media types to score some stellar shots as the Finalists continued lapping until the light was all but gone.


Day 3 of 4 is now upon us, and the Salomon team will paying close attention to the Finalists' antics in the park today in preparation for tomorrow's awards ceremony, where the 2012 Salomon Jib Academy Champion will be crowned. Stay tuned for more updates on all the super happy fun times that are going down here at Mammoth Mountain, and for more highlights of the action, be sure to check out the Salomon Jib Academy Facebook fan page.