Celebrate bike skills park groundbreaking with screening of Red Bull’s ‘North of Nightfall’

Composite image: Background image features Southern Utah mountain biking trails combined with a screen image featuring the "North of Nightfall" movie, locations and dates not specified | Background image courtesy of Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association, film image courtesy of Red Bull Media House Inc., movie screen image from Pixabay, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In celebration of the groundbreaking for St. George’s new mountain bike skills park, the Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association, the city of St. George and Rapid Cycling have joined forces to bring Southern Utah a premier presentation of Red Bull’s mountain bike film “North of Nightfall.”

Riders compete in the 6th Annual True Grit Epic mountain bike race in St. George and Santa Clara, Utah, Mar. 12, 2016 | File photo by Don Gilman, St. George News

Held Friday in the Electric Theater, the event will feature a welcoming reception where guests can view renderings of the bike park, light refreshments and an address from St. George Mayor Jon Pike.

Ground has been broken on the first phase of the new bike skills park which is will be built in the Sand Hollow Wash area near Snow Canyon High School.


Read more: Largest bike skills park in Southern Utah set to begin construction in St. George


The project, which has been years in the works, will feature skill areas for a variety of riding levels. Features will include a beginner gravity skills area, a progressive drop zone, pump tracks, a pump and bump skills loop, a dirt jump zone and cross country trails.

The park is designed to allow a smooth progression of learning for mountain bike riders, said Kevin Christopherson, president of Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association.

The Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association is a nonprofit group dedicated to building, maintaining and riding mountain bike trails throughout Southern Utah. It is the group’s belief that mountain biking creates a healthy lifestyle that promotes strong community bonds and positively effects the economy.

Southwestern Utah is a popular destination for mountain bikers due in large part to the association’s dedication to building more trails as well as the nearly year-round ability to ride that Southern Utah’s climate offers. But one thing that has always been missing, Christopherson said, is a bike skills park.

Park planners also anticipate that the park will include a race course where events like the Utah High School Cycling League state championships and other races can be held.

“This is a really cool thing for the community,” Christopherson said.

Construction on the first phase of the bike park is set to be completed in September.

The community is invited to celebrate the groundbreaking by attending the screening of the Red Bull mountain bike film “North of Nightfall.”

The film’s synopsis is as follows:

Hidden among the glaciers high in the Arctic Circle are mountain bike lines too incredible to ignore. Harsh temperatures, volatile weather and nine-month winters mean the area is normally devoid of human life. But each summer, this frozen landscape flourishes under endless daylight, revealing a spectacular ecosystem. Join Darren Berrecloth, Carson Storch, Cam Zink and Tom Van Steenbergen as they embark on an expedition to the top of the world to explore this relatively unknown land. In doing so, they discover a changing environment steeped in history along with challenging terrain unlike anything anyone’s ridden to date.

Carson Storch takes his first run at Red Bull Rampage, Virgin, Utah, Oct. 27, 2017 | File photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

Southern Utah fans of mountain biking will recognize the film’s stars as they have participated in Red Bull Rampage – the energy drink juggernaut’s freeride mountain bike competition which has been held on the steep mesas outside Virgin 12 times since the early 2000s.

“It is an honor to screen this movie,” Christopherson said, adding that as far as he knows, St. George is one of the first cities to host a screening of the film.

The mountain biking community in Southern Utah is diverse, Christopherson said; riders of all ages, skill levels and trail preferences live and ride here and he is hoping that this event will bring them together for one big party and celebration.

Doors open Friday at 6 p.m. and the film will start around 7 p.m. It is approximately 65 minutes long.

Admission to the event is a $5 donation that will go to help Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association in its goal to build and maintain world class mountain biking trails in Southern Utah. Seating for the event is first-come, first-serve.

Event details

  • What: Bike Park Groundbreaking Celebration featuring a film screening of Red Bull’s “North of Nightfall.”
  • When: Friday, June 8, 6 p.m.
  • Where: The Electric Theater, 68 E. Tabernacle, St. George.
  • Cost: $5 donation.
  • Additional information: Seating is first-come, first-serve.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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