Cody Townsend: Salomon Jib Academy- May in Mammoth

Jibbing. Where skiing is my life, park shredding is more like a hobby for me. Fun to dabble in, play around with and admire the truly talented ones, but ultimately it's an off-shoot for me. But mention that to any 15 year old growing up in the Midwest and your likely to get ghetto vibed (through a pair of purple goggles and a neon green bandana may I add). Salomon capitalized on an insanely great idea to give a bunch of upcoming teens from small resorts around the world the chance to compete locally and win a all-expenses paid trip to Mammoth to shred with the entire Salomon International Freeski team. And when I say 'entire' I mean 'entire'. The biggest stars in the sport (Simon Dumont, Sammy Carlson, Mike Douglas, Kaya Turski, Charles Gagnier, John Symms) to the up and coming stars (Nick Martini, Henrik Harlaut, Dane Tudor, Matt Walker, Bobby Brown, Alexis Godbout) to even the big mountain team (Myself, Elyse Saugstad, Mark Abma, Chris Reubens) was there.

For me it was awesome to watch 12 year olds spinning circles around guys twice there age (Willie Borm) and see the stars like Simon show why they're are the best in the biz. But ultimately it was awesome to shred around with Reubens, Abma, Elyse and the Powder magazine crew on an Mammoth mountain covered with silken corn. Going into the Jib Academy I hastily told myself to get in the park and spin around with the kids showing them that big mountain skiers ain't all straight airs and powder landings. But ultimately the my life took over and park skiing waited like a model airplane hanging up in the garage because the skiing was too damn good to pass up and a hobby, well, is always just a hobby.

Anyways, peep some pics. Thanks for the read. Lates,

CT

Mammoth Mountain.