Friday, June 28, 2013

Burnt Hut Down Under

Here's an impressive ski house down under...in the Australian Alps.  While I have not skied in Australia (yet, anyway), I have spent considerable time researching ski houses there...and this beauty is among the best I've seen.  The Ski House of the Day is Burnt Hut right on the mountain at the Mt. Buller ski area (which kicked off its 2013 ski season earlier this month) in Victoria, Australia.

The location of this ski house (middle of the photo below) is right along the 'Shaky Knees' ski trail, and it's one of the few chalets here where you can ski to and from the door (that's my kind of ski house).

The house sits in a great location in the snow among the gum trees...and it gets even more interesting on the inside.   The architectural and designer touches are obvious throughout the house, and they combine with modern technology to make this a beautiful, and functional ski house.  I love all the large, unobstructed windows to take in the views.  The feeling in this ski house is comfortable luxury with an exotic flair. Check out the comfy, fur covered places (which even include stuffed Persian camel sacks) to lounge in front of the wood-burning fireplace:

...the very complete, modern kitchen:

...and sleek breakfast bar seating (or apres-ski cocktail hour seating):

This very inviting dining room looks irresistible:
Nice place to share an apres-ski dinner;  it even has the romantic appearance of being perched up in the tree-tops. (But...um..., in a house called Burnt Hut, I'm thinking that maybe the centerpiece should be something other than...fire...?).   No matter, it's simply gorgeous!

I love the comfy seating with a view:

This ski house has four bedrooms (plus sleeping loft)...

...and three bathrooms, like this sleek one (...more seating with a view):

This place has features that really make a house a ski house...downstairs is a ski room and drying room, and upstairs is a sauna:


The average annual snowfall at Mt. Buller is 2.42 m.  It has a vertical drop of 4,511 ft., and has 22 lifts.  Approximately half the mountain's trails are rated as intermediate....but there are chutes to be found as well;  check out Aussieskier's Buller Chutes off-piste run.

From Burnt Hut there's a picutesque view of the mountains through the icicles:

...but speaking of being 'down-under'...I'm wondering what (or who) is 'down under' the snow on the roof just 'down under' this beautiful house!  

I think Burnt Hut is a fantastic ski house...now if I can only get...down under.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Ski Barn

Here's a ski house that is a unique, and beautiful contradiction...it's old and it's new; it's a house and it's a barn;  it's modern yet historic;  its frame was constructed probably about a century ago, yet the house was completed just a few years ago.  The Ski House of the Day is this unique Ski Barn, at Sugarbush.  This charming ski house was constructed around an antique timber frame Vermont barn.

The ski house sits on nearly 5 acres along the sno-cat trail that connects with Sugarbush allowing for skiing back in to the house.  Nice spot!

The house has a somewhat understated exterior that seems to me to be true to its original life as a barn.  The metal roof and the sugar house style cupola add to the quaint Vermont barn character of the house:

Inside, the high-end finishes are modern and beautiful, yet those antique barn timbers are never far away:
This 5-bedroom ski house is on the market right now (asking price is $795,000); so it looks like a new family of skiers will have the unique opportunity to ponder the history of these aged timbers while they sit in front of the cozy stone fireplace....


...or climb the stairs...

......or gaze up at the barn timber details of the antique barn cupola...


I think it's great that a piece of Vermont history can be preserved at the same time a modern ski home is created, and I think this is a beautiful, modern ski house...that is also a sweet piece of Vermont's past.