The Pinnacle at Yellowstone Club
Designed to offer its owner a life of almost unimaginable
luxury, this is the most expensive home ever listed.
By Camilla McLaughlin

The most expensive listing in the world promises to offer much more than a large price tag. This year's No. 1 ultimate home is still under construction, but entices potential buyers with a lifestyle and living experience unlike any other.

On a mountaintop setting in Montana's Big Sky country, the Pinnacle includes a secluded enclave of four 4,000-square-foot guest houses, security and staff quarters centered around a 32,000-square-foot main lodge in a setting reminiscent of a European village. Add into that the amenities of the ultra-posh Yellowstone Club, the only private golf and ski community in the world, and options— such as the retractable helipad ( helicopter included)—so exceptional that it even could measure up to the expectations of James Bond, and it is easy to see why this home captures top ultimate home status.

Yellowstone Club, Big Sky, Montana
Most extraordinary, according to Beau Blixseth, project director for
The Pinnacle and son of Yellowstone Club developer Tim Blixseth, is the
land itself: 160 acres covered with a lush forest of pines, aspens and firs, situ-
ated between Lone, Cedar and Pioneer mountains, that gives way to 360-
degree views of the Rockies.
At the main house, a porte cochere transitions to a long glass breeze-
way crossing a water feature that appears to be an ancient stream seemingly
passing through the home and wandering past the guest houses before emp-
tying into a stocked trout pond that becomes a winter skating rink. The entry
transfixes with amazing views. “And,” says Bozeman architect Jerry Locati,
who is orchestrating every facet of The Pinnacle, “with every step you take,
the house just keeps opening up. It unfolds as something you experience.”
Throughout, Locati layers exquisite finishes and handmade details with
reclaimed timbers, flagstone and wide-plank wood flooring, taming the mas-
sive volume of lodge-style architecture and creating what he describes as “an
incredibly welcoming, livable home.” The end result is at once subtle and
powerful, and guaranteed to mesmerize the most blasé billionaire.“You won't
even notice a lot of these details until your third or fourth visit,” he adds.
The vision, according to Blixseth, was a home both spacious enough
to accommodate large parties and one that is family friendly. A good exam-
ple is the gourmet kitchen and adjacent alcove, each with a stone fireplace,
an ideal family gathering space that is supplemented on the lower level with
a full commercial kitchen including a chef's office. The master wing is a stun-
ning retreat with his-and-her spa bathrooms, an additional kitchen and liv-
ing areas, a bar, multiple fireplaces and a covered stone deck with a hot tub.
Attracting family and grandchildren is an important motivation for
owners of ultimate homes and this home has endless opportunities to play,
including an indoor/outdoor heated pool with a swim-through glass wall,
26-seat cinema, hair and nail salon and a fitness area including massage space
and a racquetball/squash court. A world unto itself is the fully stocked, 8,000-
bottle wine cellar. “Once you light the fire it is almost like going back to the
Middle Ages,” says Locati of the dining/tasting area.
A gondola, “outfitted with all the bells and whistles,” comes directly
to the house to whisk occupants to nearby Yellowstone Club lifts. A fleet of
Suburbans completes the underground parking garage, and, of course, there
is the helipad (with a lounge and pilot's quarters), which retracts for under-
ground storage.
There are lots of ultimate homes but few make the dream of the ulti-
mate living experience a reality as well as this home does. The Pinnacle should
be complete by 2009.

6 bedrooms
32,000 square feet
160 acres

¹² ULTIMATE HOMES