Mogul Mountain
By Erik Torkells

(FORTUNE Magazine) – Ski seasons come and go, but lift lines are eternal--or are they?

"We had a great place in Lake Tahoe," says Tim Blixseth, on the phone from the Yellowstone Club, his new private ski area in the Montana Rockies. "But Tahoe got so popular that we decided to come up here, build one ski lift, and lock the gate." Upon learning what he was up to, of course, his friends wanted in.

How it works: You fill out an application (406-995-4900; theyellowstoneclub.com), and the club does a bit of due diligence. If accepted, you pay $250,000 for a membership and buy one of the 864 "real estate components"--a lot on which to build a house, for example, or a space in the lodge. It's probably not too bad a bargain, suggests Blixseth, former co-owner of Crown Pacific timber. "Let's say you buy a lot for $1 million, spend another million to build a house, and pay $250,000 to join. Hell, I just sold a lot in Sun Valley--with no house on it--for $1.8 million!"

When the infrastructure is complete--by next winter it should be two-thirds there--the four mountains will have 4,000 acres of skiing, 40 runs (over a 2,900-foot vertical drop), 14 lifts, and seven restaurants. Among the 70 members onboard so far are filmmaker Warren Miller, as the club's ski director, and golf designer Tom Weiskopf, whose 18-hole course should be playable by next summer.

One member is already happy. "We just got a foot of new powder," says Blixseth. "I'm canceling my trip back to Southern California and going to spend another day."

--ERIK TORKELLS