Mike Basich is a pro snowboarder who built an incredible off the grid cabin called ‘Area 241’ on 40 acres of land in the unknown pockets of Donner Summit, California. That’s not all he built, he’s also got his own chair lift, like a mini resort all to himself.
The Cabin was built to strategically harness the power of the wind and sun for warmth and less shoveling! It acts much like a tree well and the stars align on his birthday to cast a shadow that connects the points of the pentagon on which he based the design on.
Mike’s always been into DIY in one way or another. He has over the years taken a huge amount of self-portraits and recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to get funding to produce a book that showcases the last 15 years of imagery. He’s reached the goal, but you can still back the project here.
Self-curated Yeti ad for GoPro
The idea behind building such a place was to feel closer to the truth of existence… this is something that really resonates with me and is so inspiring to see how Mike has achieved this balance of his passions in life. Area 241 is built primarily with stones and cement with some nice added touches of solid wood. This helps to keep the maintenance low even with a natural hot tub involved. Electricity is from solar panels, water from snowmelt and heating from wood fires.
The simple life is something I feel everyone thinks about at times in their lives and Mike has managed to build his slice of freedom in the best way he knows how.
Seeker Network just posted a nice clip talking to Mike and showing you around the grounds.
…and one last image of Mike Basich that will blow your mind! (giant acid drop from the heli, shot by himself of himself)
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