Talk about having a different set of priorities. While plenty of professional snowboarders call Lake Tahoe home, none do it quite like Mike Basich. The 40-year old, who formerly owned a five-bedroom on a cul de sac in Salt Lake City, bought 40 acres of property ten miles from Truckee, California, and built a no-bedroom 228 square foot self-sustaining home on it. "Area 241," as it is known, has got a few catches, though. No bedroom, just a loft. The bathroom's outside, and since the home is completely off the grid, the only power comes from a single solar panel. The wood-fired stove doubles as the oven, and the tiny house is liable to get completely buried during the epic five to ten foot storms the region can produce.
Not to mention that the house is three miles away from any road, meaning the only way in during the winter is via snowcat or snowmobile. Luckily Basich owns both, and has done plenty to turn his 40 acres into a snowboarder's paradise. There's plenty of terrain to get to right out the front (only) door, and the snowcat means Basich can build himself a private terrain park whenever he feels the urge. He also built a wood-fired hot tub for relaxing in after snowboarding. His most recent project has been stringing up a surface lift that will rise 600 vertical feet up the backyard, meaning private hot laps all day long. Priorities, right?
&$183; Tiny Cabin, Great View [Wall Street Journal]