The Air Up There

Expect the unexpected at 93 Andesite Ridge, where imaginative home design reaches rarefied air inside Montana’s ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club.

“It’s designed as a generational gathering place,” says Dave Kisko, member of the Yellowstone Club real estate team. “There are so many creative, functional elements throughout the entire home that appeal to the whole family. Some are obvious, yet some will definitely surprise you.”

This home has more than 12,500 square feet of livable space spread across two levels and its one-of-a-kind bonus spaces, both above and below. It features six bedrooms, two bunkrooms, 11 bathrooms, two powder rooms and a three-car garage. The listing price is $17,950,000. It’s the spaces seemingly designed to be discovered, however, that make 93 Andesite Ridge truly next-level. 

One innovative element in particular plays directly into the driving force of the Yellowstone Club: primo skiing on its renowned private powder. Out of the lower level of the home stretches an amazing ski bridge, which leads to an elevator that drops into the ski room some 30 feet below.

When building a home high in the Rockies, it’s surmised that designers will face challenges dealing with sloped terrain. That can cause serious headaches, Kisko says, but not here. In fact, Bozeman-based architect Reid Smith turned the property’s steep pitch into one of its most striking features by pushing the envelope of mountain home design.

“It looks like the room at the end of this long, elevated passageway is the destination,” he says. “There are windows on both sides as you walk toward an inviting, comfy seating area with amazing Montana views. But you turn to the right, and all of a sudden there’s the elevator door.”

The ski room sits along the Homeward Bound Skiway, which puts YC’s nearly 3,000 skiable acres at your feet. It’s considered the best ski access at the Club, which means it is click-in, click-out, gravity-fed access. 

Rising from the top of the home is a window-wrapped observatory, which conjures imagery of a remote U.S. Forest Service fire lookout. “It’s got huge panoramic views of the Spanish Peaks, Lone Peak and the Club itself,” Kisko says. “Stargazing, sunsets, sunrises…you can take it all in up there.”

There are other whimsical touches throughout the home, such as secret passages connecting the bunkrooms, that Kisko says gives certain areas a “Hobbit-feel” that kids (and adults, for that matter) are sure to love.

The upper level of the home features the kitchen, dining room and living room, with the master suite and a guest quarters are down the hall. Immaculate traditional details such as stacked stone and structural timbers blend with clean, contemporary finishes. The lower level is all about entertaining, with a theater, rec room, game room, gym and study. There also are more guest accommodations and changing rooms that lead to the outdoor hot tub.

Adding to the aura of the home is its setting inside the Yellowstone Club, the world’s only private ski and golf resort. It sits in the heart of the Rocky Mountains near Big Sky in southwest Montana, mere minutes from Yellowstone National Park. 

While winter activities still lure in longtime members and new homebuyers alike, people are quickly realizing summertime in Montana is hard to beat, especially at the YC. Unmatched amenities abound, including golf at the Tom Weiskopf-designed championship track, fly-fishing for trout, horseback riding, hiking, ropes courses…the list is endless.

“Our families can put down a lot more time in the summer,” Kisko says, referring to balancing school and work schedules. “They can stay for weeks at a time and be a part of the Club in a whole different way than winter.”

No matter the season, though, memories are waiting to be made in Montana.

“Montana allows people to be in their comfort zone,” Kisko says. “There’s a mystique that keeps people coming back. It’s an understated, friendly experience for everyone.”

See the listing here.