Big Sky is just 48 miles from Yellowstone National Park






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One place you won't be checking in to, unless you're already a member, is Big Sky, Montana's ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club, the vision of timber entrepreneurs Tom and Edra Blixseth.

Yellowstone Club members, once approved, are expected to purchase or build a residence with a total cost of $3-10 million, but if you're not ready for that level of commitment, condos will be available for $1-3 million at the new Warren Miller Lodge. That's right, the king of ski movies is Yellowstone Club's director of skiing, lending real credibility to the Club's 1,000 acre private ski resort.

Blixseth promises private powder and advises of his simple motto: "check your ego at the gate and pick it up when you leave." And it appears he means it: "I've returned a few checks", he told The Los Angeles Times last week. Blixseth does not seem interested in sharing his powder stash with jerks, a marketing strategy that sets this enclave apart in a way that is very… well, Montana. The private club already counts more than 200 members among its ranks.

If you want to experience Big Sky without a major investment, Big Sky Resort has been on the move lately, and it's very much open to the public. Conceived and built by the late NBC newscaster, Chet Huntley, and known through the 80's as an intermediate's resort, Big Sky embarked on an ambitious expansion and development plan in 1990, which included the addition of the Lone Peak Tram in 1995.

Sporting an impressive 3,600 acres, Big Sky may not be private, but it usually has more acres of skiable terrain than it does skiers, and with non-stop service to Bozeman from 5 national hubs, Montana's isolation these days is more imagined than real. Add to that the largest vertical drop in the U.S. at 4,350 feet, and you're talking about a world-class mountain. (Jackson Hole claims the greatest continuous vertical rise in the U.S with 4,139 feet.) Big Sky has been quietly keeping pace with some of the world's biggest ski destinations lately, and if you haven't visited yet, it should be on your hot list.

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