
Private powder: What if you could avoid lift lines and still be skiing fresh snow into the afternoon? Well, you can by becoming a member of a private ski resort. Here's some of the best, including Yellowstone Club (pictured).

Yellowstone Club: This powdery paradise for moneyed mountain types (Bill Gates is a member) lies in the Rocky Mountains of Montana on the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone Club: The damage is as steep as a double black diamond run -- an initial fee of $300,000 and an annual fee of $37,500 is the small change. To become a member you have to own property, which ranges from condos starting at $3 million to ranches north of $25 million.

Yellowstone Club: Once you've splashed the cash the skiing's epic, with 16 lifts, 60 runs and 2,700 vertical feet of downhill action, all of which you can enjoy with resident pro and ski movie legend Scot Schmidt. The resort of Big Sky is also next door.

Cimarron Mountain Club: Set to open in December 2018, this exclusive enclave in the San Juan mountains of Colorado could just be the most elite resort-based ski experience in the world.

Cimarron Mountain Club: The 1,750-acre property will be available to just 15 home-owning families and their guests. The initial buy-in is likely to be about $3.4 million, with annual dues between $55,000 and $65,000.

Cimarron Mountain Club: The ski area encompasses 1,000 acres along the club's two-and-a-half miles of the Cimmaron Ridge, with access to another 950 acres of public land. The 60 runs will be reached by snowcat, with six distinct areas offering a variety of terrain from leisurely groomed runs to glades, chutes and bowls.

Hermitage Club: The Hermitage Club is a 1,400 acre private club in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont, with five chairlifts and 46 tree-lined trails on the side of Haystack Mountain.

Hermitage Club: It costs a cool $85,000 up front with $9,500 annually in dues. Lodging is in one of six local inns, slopeside townhouses or condos with further development planned.

Silverton Mountain: A short distance from Telluride in Colorado, and enjoying the same whopping 400 inches of snow per year, Silverton's one single chairlift is a highway to heaven for advanced and expert skiers.

Silverton Mountain: The vast ski area is open to guided groups only from December to March (Thursday-Sunday), which limits the number of visitors. If that's not private enough, you can book the whole mountain for about $14,900 per day.

Silverton Mountain: With no groomed slopes and only one chairlift to access the mountain, Silverton is reserved for advanced and expert skiers.

Powder Mountain: "Pow Mow," as it's known to locals, lies an hour north of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch mountains of Utah. It's not private, but lift tickets are limited to 1,500 per day to preserve its soul.

Powder Mountain: The resort was taken over in 2013 by the Summit collective of new-age entrepreneurs and thought leaders. The vision is to create a sympathetic "next-generation"alpine town at the top of this upside-down ski area, which boasts nine lifts and 167 groomed runs.

Eagle Point: Lying halfway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in southern Utah, Eagle Point is a public ski resort with an exclusive twist.

Eagle Point: For the pocket change of $10,000 a day, the entire mountain -- five lifts, 40-plus pine-clad runs, 600 skiable acres, 1,500 feet of vertical -- can be rented Tuesday-Thursday, January through the end of March.

HoliMont: This resort in upstate New York opened in 1962 and is now the largest private ski club in the United States. It's open to the public during the week but weekends are reserved for the 4,000 members to enjoy the 52 tree-lined trails, eight lifts and 135 skiable acres, with plans to develop the Westmont Ridge ski area.

Temple Basin: New Zealand's back-to-basics "clubbies" are members' ski fields also open to the public. "TB" has its own Range Rover-driving-designer-set filter -- you have to walk the final 45 minutes uphill to the base area.



