Highland Training Camp - 9,100 square foot indoor facility

Dec 2, 2010
by Mike Levy  
Highland Mountain Bike Park is excited to announce their indoor training center, a 9,100 square foot structure that includes a massive foam pit with both a trick lip and drop into it, resi ramp and resi drop, and many other features for you to practice on before you take it out to the mountain.

Inside you can watch a killer video from Lucent Productions of Aaron Chase and other riders as they session the HTC's features, as well as read an interview with Highland's Mark Hayes about what it took to make it all happen.


Check out the HTC in the video below!

Views: 26,824    Faves: 185    Comments: 19





The HTC looks like a dream come true for a lot of riders, but I'm guessing that it was quite a process to get the ball rolling. What was involved in getting the go ahead to build a facility like this?

Like any big structure, building a 9,100 square foot fabric building requires approval from the town planning board. It’s a process that could take several visits. In my case I went to a preliminary meeting and asked the board what they would be looking for. The meeting was scheduled and I had approval to build after the first visit in February of 2010. The legal process is unavoidable, but if the town likes what’s going on, it usually makes for an easier process.

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That sounds like it went smooth! Maybe there are some riders on the board? After that it's time for the permits?

The board approval is completed by a majority vote of the town selectman. I received a Notice of Decision from the board, the OK from the fire department, and the building permit from the town code officer.


And after all the paper work was done, it was time to break ground?

We started preparing the lot in April for foundation walls and concrete flooring. The actual building was delivered in early June and the wooden features inside the building were completed by July. The actual building from concrete to wooden ramps was about three months.


Three months from start to finish! What type of building is it?

The building is a Calhoun Superstructure. I had originally ordered a fabric building by a company called Cover All and it turned out to be a bad move on my part. In December of 2009 I met with a Cover All sales rep to negotiate the purchase of a Cover All building. We had gone back and forth over the size and options and finally agreed on a price. It wasn’t until March of 2010 that we actually sat down to finalize the deal. About 10 minutes after signing the contract I got a call from Sean Calhoun the owner of Calhoun Superstructures. It turned out he was a huge fan of the mountain bike scene and an avid rider and racer. I was bummed that I hadn’t talked to this guy about 3 months earlier. In retrospect I should have tackled the Cover All rep in the parking lot to grab my deposit check back. It turned out that just three weeks after signing the deal with Cover All, the company filed for bankruptcy.


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That must have been quite the setback...

Cover All was one of the biggest fabric manufacturers in the business so it was hard to see this coming. I hired a lawyer to try and get some money back, but ended up just spending more money. The whole experience was a nightmare! Not only was I out a few bucks, but we had already sent a press release to the bike world of our plans to build an indoor training center. It was already late March and buildings this size take time to purchase, engineer and deliver. Lucky for me I had Sean Calhoun to fall back on. Sean put the Highland project on high priority and was able to engineer, build and deliver our building in about 90 days. The building was up and the foam pit running for the Claymore Challenge in July!


That's awesome - bike brethren coming through! 9,100 square feet sounds massive, but I imagine that you still wanted to squeeze in as much as possible. Was it hard to decide what to include?

The goal was to build the HTC to mimic the features that we have scattered around the mountain, but in a controlled learning environment. Dave Smutok had been working on an indoor layout during the winter of 2010. He had a good vision from the beginning and presented the idea to me in a three dimensional drawing. The drawing helped us to visualize the space and how to maximize the flow. For the most part it came together pretty easy. Smutok has a good sense for this kind of thing. In addition we ended up contracting Brad and John from Skid Mark Parks to build the actual structures. These guys are riders that have been building ramps for skate and bike parks for years. The HTC was designed and built by experienced people and that just about took away any guess work.


So from start to finish it has been built by riders, for riders. What can people expect to see when they first enter the HTC?

You enter the building on the right hand side and there’s a ticket booth area. It sits directly below the walkway of the upper drop in deck. If you are on top of the drop in deck to the far left of the building you are ready to drop in on a vert quarter to box jump to step up to quarter. If you are riding this line you have the option to take a right just before the step-up. You hit a ramp to wall to foam pit. If you’re standing on the top deck, center of the building you will be looking down at the foam pit. There is a drop deck just above the foam pit with a movable ramp to practice flips to foam. In front of the foam pit is a permanent lip that runs width of the foam pit. It’s essentially a quarter into the foam. For bigger air, Brad and John built portable ramps that attach to the front deck of the foam quarter. It was a simple solution to a quick lip change. We also have a portable ladder that simulates the log ramp on our slopestyle course and a hitching post. The right side of the foam pit is a mini quarter to wall ride or if desired to foam pit. On the right side and far end of the building is a drop deck to resi-box. On top of the resi-box is a drop deck to resi.

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The movable lips sound like a great idea...

The removable lips in front of the foam pit and resi-box add a tremendous amount of flexibility to the jumping component of the HTC. Riders just learning tricks have the mellow option, while more advanced riders can hook on the steep lipped ramps.


And who's idea are the movable lips for the foam pit?


That would be Brad and John from Skid Mark Parks.


So they just slide into place, no fuss?

Exactly. There are two 4”x4” wood columns under the ramps that insert into 4” x 4” cut outs on the front deck of the foam pit and resi-ramp to hold it in place.

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Was an indoor park like the HTC always on Highland's wish list?

Not really. From the beginning I wanted the park to have the capacity to teach every level of rider. I believe Whistler came out with the Airdome around 2006 and that was our opening year. Seeing their building in action planted the seed, but it was still very early in the life of Highland. In 2007 Dave Smutok came on board to help design and build our jump park with a follow up project to build our slopestyle course. By 2008 we had jumps everywhere and our first major slopestyle competition, the Claymore Challenge. By the end of 2009 I was fully committed to building the Highland Training Center or HTC to help enhance the growth of our overnight, week long camp called the Ayr Academy. So the wish list included Highland as a legit training center for all levels of riding it just wasn’t till a few years in that an indoor park like the HTC became the reality.


Will it be open for riders all year, or just in the riding season?

The option to expand into a longer season is real, but the short term plan is keep the HTC open during the riding season only. Session passes will cost $12 with a discount for season pass holders. During 2010 the HTC was open for 1 session from 2:15PM to 5:00PM. Next year we will offer 3, 2 hour and 45 min public sessions. During the Ayr Academy weeks private sessions will be scheduled for the campers.

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Are there plans afoot to have rider clinics?

Yes, the HTC was built for Highland Camps such as the week long Ayr Academy camp. Camp sessions will always take priority over the open public session. For 2011 our Ayr Academy coaches include Dave Smutok, Aaron Chase, James Patterson, Adam Hauck, and Clint McMahon. One of our resort partners is helmet camera manufacturer GoPro. Each Ayr Academy camper will have a camera to use throughout the week of the camp. The campers will have full use of the camper's lounge located under the foam pit drop deck in the HTC. The lounge will have a flat screen T.V. couch tables and a video editing station. The coaches will teach the students how to edit their footage a create movies of their Ayr Academy experience.

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Check out the Highland Mountain Bike Park website for all the details.

Posted In:
Interviews


Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
2,032 articles

94 Comments
  • 13 0
 shweet, whish i cud go Frown
  • 5 0
 Looks soooooo nice!!
  • 24 0
 why doesnt the u.k have anything like this Frown
  • 2 0
 Preach!
  • 15 1
 because the uk is bollocks and doesnt give a monkeys about anything like that! haha
  • 8 0
 i know right and probs heath and saftey or something crap
  • 5 0
 have a look at corby skatepark it like this but bigger
  • 2 0
 yeah corbys good but its not got all the different options that highland offers :/
  • 1 2
 im the first kid shown in this vid! saaaaaahhhhweeeeeeeeet!
  • 1 0
 looks so sick and flowy and hmmmmm
  • 3 1
 hahan im all over this. backflip picture is me, and im in the video a bunch. lime green helmet, white bike, chyee
  • 2 3
 you know what? you suck.
  • 10 0
 Im dyslexic and i saw "Check out the THC in the video below" i got kinda excited
  • 3 0
 i loled ^
  • 1 0
 nice foam
  • 5 0
 highland has good food. i like their BLT's.
  • 3 0
 good for you?
  • 2 0
 Anyone notice that the roll in, and QP on the start is almost exactly the same as the airdome?
  • 1 1
 yeah man it is good for me....dont sound so jealous just because i've been there and you haven't.................rippin-norco.
  • 1 0
 i am jealous i havnt been there, but i would prefer whistler because its way closer.
  • 1 0
 it's a pretty cool park, i only live 7 hours away....and whistler is like a 4 day drive for me.
  • 1 0
 haha whistler is like a 6 hr drive for me and highland is like a 4 day drive Razz
  • 1 0
 lucky you.
  • 6 0
 Highland is americas whistler. not as big but there growing every year. there HTC is pretty similar to the air dome in whistler but highland's HTC still looks sick. hope to one day make it out there one day and check out the trails
  • 1 0
 i really like the jump with the rubber landing the air dome could really use one of those but everything at both places are really sweet
  • 1 0
 ya those are really sick. the air dome could use one to help with the doing the new trick you just learned a little easier when trying it with a landing for the first time.theres one here in T.O at joyride150 and its pretty sick and helps a lot. when i crash really hard i dont feel a thing
  • 2 0
 For those saying this has copied the Whistler Airdome...even if true, I fail to see why this is a problem? Last I heard we want to grow this sport to reach as many people as possible, and it's a compliment to the Airdome if anything that a similar design was used. Can't wait to get back to Highland in '11.
  • 4 0
 "we gotta get everyone into the sport"
this is what Mark is all about, remember that.
  • 3 0
 exactly vish!!
  • 3 0
 www.calhounsuperstructure.com if you want a building like this, i am your man. Cheers to Mark and the staff of Highland. This place is a little piece of New Hampshire heaven.
  • 4 0
 oh how i wish that was in scotland would be the best place to go when the weather is crap Frown
  • 1 0
 Everyone from other countries.... This is a private mountain, bought by a very cool cat Mark, which turned it into his dream ride place. I am lucky enough to live only a few hours away and have been there since day 1. There must be someone in the UK that can pull this off or something similar no ? Mark has the mountian setup with a little of everything. North Shore style stunts,technical steep rocky Northeast stuff, flowy supercross style stuff, jump park stuff, pretty much everything. Great place when you live nearby. Would I pack up and move to New England from Vancouver ??? Not a chance!! But it is nice that some of us poor folk that can't afford the cash or time to fly off to Whistler or Van 2 times a month to get our mountain fix have this really decent location just off of a major highway. I have yet to go "inside to ride" but will get up there soon for that. Mark and his family are really decent people, they all work really hard making the mountain a great place to be and serve excellent food and very good pints on tap for the relaxing calm down after a day of stepups, drops, gaps and chutes.***** Cheers to all and seasons greetings to all the brethren around the world, may your season be a peaceful one !
  • 3 0
 everything looks sick there, resi was the one thing missing from the airdome!
  • 1 3
 joyrides 19500 sq ft. just sayinnnnn Wink
  • 3 0
 joyride is also its own skatepark. this place has an entire mountain with lift accessed trails... we're talking acres. and lots of them
  • 1 0
 joyride is 90,000 sqaure feet
  • 1 0
 joyride dosnt have lift acess now does it?
  • 1 0
 never said it did or is better or anything....jus sayin the footage
  • 1 0
 i know Razz
  • 4 0
 The 2011 season is just too far away, I cant wait!
  • 1 0
 going to be a loooong winter
  • 2 0
 AAAWWWSSSOOOMMEEEEE ! i am getting one of those ! i made a little mess when i saw this i have to admit XD
  • 3 0
 Not fair, we need stuff like this in england Frown
  • 1 0
 From the vid, it looks like it could do with a diagonal mirror strip above the pit, so that riders waiting to drop in can see it's clear.
  • 2 0
 it seems to be not open in the winter ? i dont really understand why because i only ride indoor park in winter
  • 1 0
 OwenL67: I dont't think i would go there when it was wet, I would be there aaaaaaal day! Rainy or sunny!
  • 1 0
 Highland is in Northfield NH USA just maybe 15 minutes north of Concord the capital of NH.
  • 1 3
 Too bad they didn't give credit for copying the Air Dome. I heard they were in Whistler sniffing around. Even same placement of the pop machine. BUT so good to have another awesome facility out there....stoked that the east coast can enjoy some indoor goodness....
  • 2 0
 I know where I'm goin next summer. Great job Highland!!
  • 1 0
 Damn we need something like this in Ireland, that bike took some hit at 4:13 too!haha
  • 1 0
 where is it? state and city? if it says in the reading, sry. im just too lazy to read all of it.
  • 1 0
 Northfield, NH
  • 1 0
 thx.
  • 1 0
 were cool guys. You wait 5 years and i'll make a place better than this! Screw Accounting! Smile
  • 1 0
 !!!!!!!!!! I wanna go so bad!!!!
  • 1 0
 i want a foampit too near my house!!! Big Grin That park looks so awesome
  • 1 0
 If you build it they will come. We NEED this!
  • 1 0
 And they stole our names.
  • 1 0
 its been open all summer it is soooooooo sick
  • 1 0
 Where is this indoor facility located?
  • 1 0
 SO SO SO sick with I could be there! Frown
  • 1 0
 why do they never build something like this in europe? Frown
  • 1 0
 the resi ramp looks sickk ...
  • 2 1
 way to copy the airdome. but would be fun...
  • 4 1
 If you mean they built wooden features in an enclosed area for a mountain bike park...then i guess so? How do you propose that someone make a roll-in, quarter pipes, and box jumps different that others? I'm sick of people saying 'Oh they copied Airdome'. It's an indoor facility, there's only so many ways you can build features for bikes. So if the Airdome gets a resi jump then are you going to say they're copying the HTC?
  • 1 0
 They need this in So Cal near Palm Springs!!!
  • 1 0
 SUPER SICK!!!!! can't wait to ride there!!!
  • 1 0
 Any idea if it's open year round by now?
  • 1 0
 damn wish they had places like this near me
  • 1 0
 omg britain keep up we want one this is sick
  • 1 0
 2nd to last photo has nearly same setup as air dome in whitler
  • 1 0
 ohhh man looks so good, much fresher than the air dome
  • 1 0
 not much info for where this is
  • 1 0
 new hampshire. just go to the highland website
  • 1 0
 why doesnt romania have a mountain-bike park
  • 1 0
 it's the vish trademark Eek
  • 1 0
 the rezi drop and foam pit drop are a for sure plus
  • 1 0
 If only Calgary had something like this...
  • 1 0
 does that guy have something on his face?
  • 1 0
 mark got a black eye from riding Smile Instead of sitting in his office he rips the mountain and the HTC all the time!!
  • 1 0
 Whistler airdome needs a resi jump. HTC has a way better setup.
  • 1 0
 Been there, rode that. Be back next Spring! Smile
  • 1 0
 Looks so fun
  • 1 1
 Check out...RAMPFEST.COM.AU...that's what we ride in Australia.It shits all over this place.
  • 3 0
 obviously a dedicated skate park will have more room/features/etc. This is an indoor facility at a mountain bike park. Can you leave that park and go outside and hit massive dirt jumps? or hope on a chairlift and take some downhill runs? How about a slalom course?
  • 2 0
 exactly.
  • 1 0
 Highland 3
  • 1 0
 Fia da puta !!!!
  • 1 2
 we need a thing like this in the gta [greater toronto area] canada ontario toronto
  • 3 0
 have you never heard of joyride? its in markham
  • 1 0
 have heard of it but i think there should be a place more local
  • 1 0
 dont get much more local then that, its what an hour tops from you?
  • 1 0
 fuse how can you not have heard of it? google joyride 150 its on 150 bullock drive in markham
  • 1 1
 anyone else think ALOT of this look like the airdome?







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