Private Yellowstone Club Ski House

The Ski House of the Day is an expansive custom log residence in the exclusive Yellowstone Club at  Big Sky, Montana.

This ski house is rich in rustic elegance with huge log timbers, numerous massive stone fireplaces, and spectacular views.   But the most distinguishing feature about this ski house is that it is located in the private Yellowstone Club, one of the most exclusive private residential resorts in the country.  So private, in fact, that I don't have a photo of it.   The club has its own private world class ski area (called "Private Powder" and Trademarked as such), with 15 lifts, 60+ trails, plus open bowls, a double black-diamond ridge of steep chutes, glades of powder, an incredibly grand timber and stone lodge,  "sugar shacks" dotted all over the mountain (where skiers can pop in to warm up and help themselves to the sweets, hot drinks and other goodies waiting for them), and Warren Miller as its honorary director of skiing!  If the private terrain isn't enough, club members can access the entirety of Big Sky / Moonlight as well, through a system of connected trails.  (When I was skiing at Big Sky a few years ago, I came past an area where the trails connected, and it is obvious that the entrance to the club's trails is private and visitors are not welcome).

This exclusive, private club is undoubtedly a dream-come-true for those skiers who are able to live in it.  However, it is probably not what was in the mind of those who created nearby Yellowstone National Park, which was established by an Act of Congress signed into law exactly 140 years ago today as the first reservation of wild lands for recreational purposes under direct management of the Federal government.  So I find it to be an interesting juxtaposition of the shared name Yellowstone, with one being created as the first to reserve the mountains as a recreation area for all, and the other being created to reserve the mountains as a private recreation area for an exclusive few.

This custom log ski house is stunningly beautiful and since it's in the Yellowstone Club, it is by definition, exclusive, and yes, too private to lay eyes on.