Montana lodge lets Nordic skiers enjoy life off the grid

Montana’s newest Nordic ski resort, Homestake Lodge, features 37 kilometers of groomed xc ski trails and is one of 13 cross-country ski lodges in the state. However, the high-elevation location 15 miles east of Butte along Interstate 90 is actually the only one that operates completely off the power, water or phone grids. “When we decided to create a new ski area for cross-country skiers, we wanted to offer excellent skiing and family-style lodging while being as environmentally conscious as possible,” says Chris Axelson, who co-owns the 5,200-square-foot lodge with his wife Mandy. As far as they could tell, no other luxury guest facility accessible by car operates without power lines, water mains or phone cables. “One of our major goals in the design and operation was to minimize our carbon footprint,” said Mandy Axelson, Chris’ wife. “For us, going green and living off grid was a new concept. We had to do a lot of our own research and talk with people that know this industry.” The couple started with 160 acres just under the Continental Divide at about 6,200 feet elevation. Though it’s cold, it’s also bright, with at least 280 days of sunshine each year, perfect for light and solar energy. Their research connected them with vendors, contractors and subcontractors with their own specialties within the green-building industry. “Each individual contractor understood a piece of the puzzle, but not the entire project,” notes Chris. “We couldn’t find anyone to integrate it all together. For example, we have electricity from solar PV panels, heat from a large solar water heater and wood gasification boiler. But to create heat, you need water pumps, which use a great deal of energy. Finding a system for all devices was one big challenge.” They met this challenge with the help of plumber Mike Roskelley of Yellowstone Plumbing and Heating out of Butte, who installed the Tarm Wood Boiler. The couple credits him with properly hooking everything up and making the whole system work. They broke ground in January 2008, and opened for skiing that winter. The lodge’s first guests arrived in November 2008. In summer, when the intense sun is directly overhead, the lodge remains cool, but winter sun radiates from a more southern direction, helping brighten south-facing windows, warming the log-accentuated building. The lodge’s main power source is from 36 photovoltaic panels built into the roof of the barn. The 190-watt solar panels made by British Petroleum are each 3 by 5 feet, so collectively they take roof space about 15 feet tall and 36 feet long. The panels supply power to the barn and cabin too. Batteries store electricity so that even on snowy days, there’s power supplemented with a backup, 30 kwh-capacity generator that kicks on if needed. “We rely completely on our solar PV panels for electricity and solar hot water panels and wood stoves for heat,” says Mandy. “The lodge remains warm and cozy even when we’ve had a minus-30-degree night.” Homestake has a huge kitchen and a homemade soup bar featuring local favorites like Peanut Curry, Sausage Barley and Potato Leek. There’s a ski and rental shop, two bunk rooms that sleep 20, and a massive stone fireplace where skiers relax with hot drinks. The upstairs bunkrooms have what’s called fin tubes with solar hot water pulsing through to warm the sleeping areas. Fin tubes resemble traditional radiators that allow heat in the building’s extremities, but aren’t really noticed by guests. “All of this is backed up by a wood gasification boiler in the basement wax room—where guests may wax their skis and dry out gear,” says Mandy. Last winter, she said the boiler was in high demand in December and January when daylight was brief, and occasionally in November, February and March. The laundry room’s dryer and the kitchen’s cooking stove and oven run on propane. Lights issue a warm hue to evenings inside the lodge. Ample daylight via Andersen Windows double-pane windows brightens the wood interior while heating up the photovoltaic panels on the lodge roof. Eight solar hot-water panels provide primary heat through the radiant floor heating system and then supply the hot water for kitchen and bathrooms. Supplemental heat radiates from a 12-foot wide, 2-story-tall fireplace, which burns wood logged on the property from dead trees, mostly lodgepole pine, which succumbed to pine beetle infestation in the past decade. “During the design and construction process, we kept in mind not only sustainable practices, but local flavor,” says Chris. “Butte is a mining city, so the lodge has some of the flavor of old mining cabins.” For example, the floor is Douglas fir, and the board and batten exterior resembles a much tidier version of a tumbledown mining shack. Initially, the couple lived in a 24-foot in diameter yurt, and then built a 18x24-foot cabin—now both available for rent. The cabin is about 200 meters from the main lodge. The yurt sleeps six guests in bunks; a kitchen, table, and vault toilet outhouse add to the romance of staying in the backcountry—dogs are welcome to stay in the yurt or cabin subject to trail conditions, and to stride along with their masters on 12 kilometers of ski trails. Once winter wraps up, Homestake Lodge entices hikers and bikers and even weddings and corporate retreats. Travelers along the Continental Divide Trail, which runs north-south between Canada and Mexico borders, can find respite and solar-heated showers here. In winter, skiers kick and glide among the aspens and join the human-powered events like the upcoming Powerhound Winter Triathlon, a national championship competition on Jan. 29 at Homestake’s trails. Athletes test their mettle on a 5-kilometer run, 10-kilometer mountain bike, 5-kilometer cross-country skiing course. National titles and Team USA spots on the line. The top three competitors in each age group qualify for Team USA for the 2012 ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships in Jämijärvi, Finland in March.”