Park Program Takes Precedence at Mountain Highs West Resort



Developing its park program has been a passion of Mountain High's since 1997, and today terrain features encompass nearly the entire West Resort. Just this summer the mountain invested more than $100,000 in labor & materials, and added four new Bombardier BR350 snowcats to ensure its terrain park remains one of the best on the West Coast. New designer, Justin Montoya, couldn't be more excited. After seven years in the resort's terrain department, this home-grown expert has risen to the top and is using his extensive area knowledge and natural designing abilities to strengthen Mountain High's already well-established profile.

Said Justin Montoya, "We are going to continue to progress with new features like the Paradox, but I want to create an environment where lower-level riders have the set-ups that they need as well. Very few mountains have transition features that actually help you move from beginner to advanced."

The Paradox, one of Mountain High's new signature features, is a 20' x 20', black, pyramid-shaped box with a flat, spinning top. Riders can either air over it or stall on the spinning top and rotate off the back. Much like the Luxor, the black, pyramid-shaped casino in Las Vegas, it, too, has a bright light shooting skyward from the center making it a showcase piece both day and night. Look for it this year in the resort's base-area jib park called The Playground. Now 10,000 square feet bigger, The Playground has room for more features in the main area and above the Outhouse chill deck, a great staging spot for spectators. As always, The Playground will be filled with specialty features and stylish riders looking to raise the bar.

Guests searching for beginner to intermediate features will find them on Creekside and Borderline. Mountain High has tripled its number of low-level features and created an environment where introductory riders can learn and progress.

Said Justin Montoya, Faultline Terrain Park Designer, "The majority of the features we had in the past were, at times, too advanced. You had to take a big leap of faith to progress so, you either survived and learned or you left the sport."

As Mountain High's new terrain designer, Montoya's main goal is to provide features that advance the sport. His journey is not so different from that of the beginners he is now trying to help. Justin began on the day crew raking jumps and providing daily maintenance to the park, but, as early as his second year, he became involved in the off-season building of jibs. He recalls his early days, not six years ago, when funboxes were made almost entirely of wood. By his third season, Montoya had graduated to heavy machinery. Beginning with a D5 bulldozer, he moved dirt to create foundations for upcoming features and helped with general off-season construction. This continued until 2002 when he began operating snowcats at night. Justin was naturally talented and took to building like a rat takes to cheese. After several months of supervision, he was turned loose and told to start at the bottom and work his way to the top. Evidently, that is just what he did.

Said Karl Kapuscinski, "We enjoy growing people through the ranks and many of our younger members have gone on to become senior management staff both here and at other resorts."

Now a qualified designer with years of experience, Justin Montoya and his team will be building the new park at Mountain High's West Resort. And they will be doing it in the latest snow grooming equipment from Bombardier. The Bombardier BE350, with its terrain master flex tillers, increased energy efficiency, and enhanced performance is specially designed for manipulating terrain giving Mountain High's builders the strength and agility they need to produce the best product possible. For more information, please contact John McColly, Director of Marketing, at (760) 316-7830.                            





Park Program Takes Precedence at Mountain Highs West Resort