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If you want complete privacy this ski season, five-star resorts and luxury tour operators are working to create once-in-a-lifetime winter experiences where you’ll barely encounter anyone from outside your household. Forego chairlift lines and busy chalets for untouched terrain only accessible by helicopter and a lodge reserved entirely for your family. Whether you’re called to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado or the famed peaks of Big Sky, Montana, you can buy a second home at a members-only club, buy out a lodge on a private mountain, or book a private ski experience with an Olympian at your favorite luxury ski resort. Either way, you’ll have all the luxury amenities of a mountain resort with none of the crowds with these eight private ski experiences in the U.S.
Related: 10 Luxury Ski Resorts Worth Visiting for the Après Ski Alone
Caldera House, Wyoming
Caldera House, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property with eight sprawling suites, is nestled at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and available for full buyouts. And as part of VistaJet’s Private World experiences, VistaJet members can book direct service to Caldera House. Not only can luxury travelers rent the entire Caldera House (which has four four-bedroom suites, four two-bedroom suites, lavish dining rooms, a home theater, and multiple soaking tubs and fire pits), but they’ll enjoy a private experience with six-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller. As part of the VistaJet and Caldera House offering, Miller will take skiers to the untouched powder of Jackson Hole backcountry for a private skiing adventure.
The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection, Utah
Heli-skiing usually offers completely private terrain, but there’s one drawback: it’s often reserved for advanced skiers. Rarely can non-veteran skiers find a private heli-program that will bring them to exclusive blue square trails rather than double black diamonds. The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property, offers heli-skiing, leaving straight from the resort, to 200,000 acres of secluded high-altitude terrain. To keep the experience private, The Lodge at Blue Sky offers a Mountain Yurt drinks experience—you’ll get the entire yurt to yourself along with High West hot toddies at the top of the mountain. Continue the private skiing tradition at Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection, also an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property, where guests can book a private ski experience with Gus Kenworthy as part of the $10,000 Ski with an Olympian package this December.
St. Regis Deer Valley, Utah
With Scott Dunn—a luxury tour operator specializing in over-the-top winter experiences—skiers can have a private week at the St. Regis Deer Valley, an American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts property. Through the seven-night package, your family will have exclusive access to a private ski gondola, ski-in/ski-out accommodations, and a private ski beach. You can also create your own private experience at St. Regis Deer Valley by working with their private ski valet.
Silverton Mountain, Colorado
With more than 1,800 acres of skiable terrain and a 2,000-foot elevation gain, Silverton Mountain can be rented per day from $9,900. It’s also a prime destination for heli-skiing; a helicopter outing can open up nearly 30,000 additional acres of terrain, and of course, that’s all private, too. If you’re coming with a group and don’t want to rent the mountain each day, instead opt for a six-run helicopter skiing pass, and you can enjoy a private heli-drop to new terrain each morning. Buying out or private heli-skiing on Silverton Mountain is best accompanied by a buyout of The Wyman, a 16-room, mid century modern boutique hotel that exudes luxury mountain charm.
Cimarron Mountain Club, Colorado
Cimarron Mountain Club, set on 1,750 private acres, is the only private ski resort in Colorado. There are only 13 owners at Cimarron, but prospective buyers can fill out an application or join the waitlist. Those approved for building can create their dream ski-in/ski-out homes. The club is set on 1,000 skiable acres and is situated right next to public trails in Crested Butte. If you crave private heli-skiing at a higher altitude, owners at Cimarron can also get picked up on the club’s property and chopper way up into the highest peaks of the San Juan Mountains.
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a public resort, so heli-skiing is the name of the game if you want to take the Idaho alpine experience private. With Sun Valley Heli Ski, you can take on 750,000 acres of private backcountry terrain. The expanse is the largest heli-ski area in the contiguous 48 states. Rent a private over-the-top lodge through Airbnb Luxe, which has an impressive portfolio of Sun Valley properties, like the Hygge House or White Cloud 16.
Related: Ski the West: 9 Luxury US Ski Resorts From Colorado to California
Yellowstone Club, Montana
Yellowstone Club is the famed members-only residence club of Big Sky, Montana. The buy in is, of course, steep, but owning a home here gets you access to the club’s nearly 3,000 skiable acres across 2,700 vertical feet (just a fraction of the 15,200 private acres Yellowstone Club members enjoy). The amenities at Yellowstone Club are beyond luxurious; from relaxing at the Rainbow Lodge, which has a gorgeous spa and a fine dining restaurant, to Yellowstone’s recent expansion to Eglise Mountain, which now offers private gondolas serviced by Yellowstone, as well as chic yurt dining options.
Eagle Point, Utah
Eagle Point Resort, in Beaver, Utah, can be bought out (only mid-week) to get you and your group private access to the 40 trails, five chairlifts, and 600 skiable acres. While a public ski area, it functions as a private resort for a full buyout. The proof? Vrbo rented the entire mountain with The Boulders, a ski-in/ski-out eight-bedroom luxury lodge set on Eagle Point’s Glacier Glade ski run. Rent the entire mountain—it goes for $10,000 a day—and The Boulders lodge, or a similar on-mountain vacation home to create your very own private ski resort.
