The house—expansive, rustic—feels quintessentially western, while its surroundings, in leafy southeastern Canada, distinctly do not. Which accounts for the cars that slow down as they drive by and the strangers who lean out to take pictures. “It’s the only Montana house in all of Ontario,” one of the owners points out, explaining how the residence she shares with her family has unexpectedly become a tourist attraction. “It’s put our town on the map.” Which isn’t to say that this house, located 30 miles from Toronto, is at odds with its surroundings. It’s just that it takes another approach. And while it is large—the main house is 10,000 square feet—it’s not oppressively so. Its architects, Jerry Locati and Kyle Tage, of the Montana firm Locati Architects, used multiple forms and textures to reduce its apparent mass. “We didn’t want the exterior to be imposing and monolithic, but more inviting and interesting,” Tage, the project architect, explains. Constructed of Oklahoma fieldstone and reclaim ...

  The Club at Spanish Peaks is the gateway to the ski slopes of Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin near Big Sky, Mont. The community also boasts a private, 18-hole Tom Weiskopf Signature golf course and kilometres of private world-class fly fishing, says a news release. All-season amenities include horseback riding, white-water rafting, hiking, biking and Yellowstone, the world's first national park. The Club at Spanish Peaks has more than 2,300 hectares, 70 per cent of which are preserved as open space. The development's website. There are currently 254 members, and 86 homes and cabins are either completed, under construction or in the approvals process. For more information, visit www.spanish-peaks.com.

  WHITEFISH, MT--(Marketwire - December 6, 2010) - The Montana Ski Company announced the launch of its new website www.montanaskicompany.com today. "The new website is very exciting, but we're focused on a far more important initiative this holiday season," says Pat Corrick, board member of the company. "We are committed to sharing the excitement and happiness that skiing offers by helping some of America's true heroes -- disabled veterans." The Whitefish, Montana based ski company has committed that for every pair of skis it sells between now and Christmas, it will donate a set of adaptive skis to a disabled veteran through Vets-Help.org. In addition, the company has pledged that if 10,000 people 'friend' the Montana Ski Company Facebook page between now and December 24th, those 10,000 friends will be entered into a drawing for one of five pairs of Montana Ski Company skis, whose names will be drawn and announced on the company's new website Christmas morning. The Montana Ski Compa ...

  Film students at Montana State University have finished their first feature length film and are working on their second as they try to break into the highly competitive field of outdoors extreme adventure films.   "Come Find Us," the first film by Toy Soldier Productions of Bozeman, comes to Great Falls on Dec. 11 for showings at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The film's showing is to raise money for a ski trip to Moonlight Basin, Big Sky and Bridger Bowl for members of the local Young Life chapter, a nondenominational Christian youth group. The film highlights talented but unknown freestyle skiers and boarders and the outstanding ski resorts of Montana.  

  Sixteen ski areas are listed on Winter Montana’s official state travel and information site. Five ski areas were open in late November. Many others have opening day scheduled for the first week in December. The open areas are Big Sky Resort near Bozeman,Montana Snowbowl near Missoula, and Red Lodge Mountain south of Billings. Lookout Pass, also open on Thanksgiving, is near Wallace, Idaho but Montana claims it as a local ski area. One other area with limited runs open is Discovery Basin near Anaconda. Soon to open are Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Bridger Bowl, Great Divide, Maverick Mountain, and Whitefish Mountain; all are scheduled to open the first week in December.  Following these are Moonlight Basin, Showdown, Turner Mountain, Teton Pass and Blacktail Mountain. Check the Winter Montana site for more information. It is found at www.wintermt.com. You will find links to all the ski areas and information about cross-country skiing, snowmobilin ...

  A helmeted, bandana-cloaked, giant lime-colored coat slingshots from one side of a ski run, up a snowy ramp to launch an off-axis spinning double-back flip and switch 1080. Only after the XXL jacket lands on Big Sky Ski Resort’s cushy powder does the human reveal himself: Jibber and park rat Shay Lee, who expresses his monosyllabic pleasure, “Sick.” Lee, a 20-year-old from Billings, Mont. has been working on the “must have” terrain park trick: the double cork, a mid-air maneuver where the skier’s body and accouterments act like a corkscrew while inverted, creating a twisting double back flip at 35 miles per hour. He lands traveling backwards— 1,080 degrees of spinning, enough to warrant a dose of Dramamine for the uninitiated—perhaps that’s the “sick” part. This generation of snow sliders, called freeskiers and freeriders, are injecting energy into a waning sport, induced by twin-tip skis, snowboards and a can of Red Bull with a side of patois, their own language formally defining top-speed tric ...

  a Cense Beef ("La Cense"), the leader in the grass fed beef industry and the only USDA Certified grass fed beef producer, is excited to announce an exciting new partnership with Moonlight Basin during the 2010 - 2011 Ski Season. Moonlight Basin will be serving exclusively La Cense Beef 100% All Natural Black Angus Steakburgers, Beef Frankfurters, Polish Kielbasa, and Rancher's Chili at the Headwaters Grill. Moonlight Basin (www.moonlightbasin.com) selected La Cense Beef (www.lacensebeef.com) as its grass fed beef provider given its exemplary grass fed production practices, the proximity of the local Montana-based La Cense Ranch, their desire to provide patrons with healthy food from local sources, and their shared concern for the environment. "Moonlight Basin prides itself on working with local companies who share our passion for quality products and environmental stewardship. La Cense was a natural fit for us with their 100% grass fed beef and sustainable ranching practices. We knew when we sampled ...

  Moonlight Basin Resort in Montana announced Wednesday that record snowfall has prompted an early partial opening Dec. 3, 2010, through Dec. 9, 2010. The resort received more than seven inches of new snow in the last 48 hours to bring the base depth to 35 inches. The Dec. 3 opening date will mark the start of operation for the Iron Horse Lift, providing access to 10 Moonlight Basin runs. Lift tickets for the early-opening period will cost $25 for adults and $20 for juniors, college students and seniors. As originally planned, Dec. 10 will remain the exclusive opening for season-pass holders only in that no day tickets will be sold for that  specific day. On Dec. 11, the entire resort will officially open for the season, and regular-season ticket pricing will be in effect. Regular lift tickets are $58 for adults and $49 for juniors, college students and seniors. Moonlight is adjacent to Big Sky Resort and joint lift tickets and passes are available. Big Sky plans to open for skiing on ...

  The Yellowstone Club saga continues but mainly for its prevous owners Tim and Edra Blixseth.  The club was taken out of bankruptsy by Cross Harbor and is now operating successfully under the management of Discovery Land Co. The Yellowstone Club continues to have a successful year of both operations and selling developer land as well as owner lots and luxury homes.  Unlike the other two Big Sky developments, Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks, Yellowstone Club is fully private with its own ski hill.  Speculation continues about how Cross Harbor will move forward with the development of the Club, but buyers and investors should be clear the the woes of Blixseth and Co. no longer impact the revived club and it's long time owners. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The IRS has filed a $15.4 million claim against Yellowstone Club co-founder Edra Blixseth for unpaid taxes during the two years leading up to the exclusive Montana resort's bankruptcy. The claim was filed Friday in Blixseth's personal ...

  WASHINGTON, DC - According to a new Treasury Department survey, Montanans are the most fiscally irresponsible people in the country. Results of the new online survey of 30,000 people shows Big Sky residents are big spenders, and that's not necessarily a good thing. The survey found nearly a quarter of Montanans, 23%, spent more than they earned over the past year, not including "big ticket" items like a car or house. The biggest culprits are young adults, 18 to 34 year olds, with nearly a third of them spending more than they earn. Some 67% of our state doesn't have anywhere close to the three month "rainy day fund" that's recommended for dealing with job loss or other emergencies. More than a third of us are using one or more non-bank borrowing options using higher interest rates and are popular with people with poor credit histories. The biggest offenders in that category are Gen Xers and the youngest baby boomers. Montanans didn't do that well answering questions of financial literacy, on ...