Have you ever fantasized about going off-grid? Maybe even wondered how it would be exchanging the daily routines with Mother Nature? Professional snowboarder and photographer Mike Basich has built his own mini-mountain retreat called Area-241. This video by Dylan Magaster gives us insights into living off-grid in style and having fun the Mike Basich way.
Mike Basich is a true to life living legend in the snowboarding world. He has been riding mountains for over 25 years and well before the introduction of “action-cameras”, Mike captured incredible selfies with DSLR cameras, remotely triggered flashes and tripod contraptions.
Living off-grid
After buying the 40-acre haven in Soda Springs, California (chairlift included, of course) he lived on the property in a teepee for a year in order to study how the weather patterns would affect the architecture. The construction of the 225 square foot cabin took 5 years and the house is powered by solar panels. There’s no interior plumbing and only an outside compostable toilet. The shower doubles as a rock seat that drains through the floor and the water comes from a nearby creek.
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The cozy home is located in a national forest on a 7,100-foot granite perch with stunning views of the Sierras. In the winter, the road isn’t plowed, so he drives a snowmobile. “It was a perfect combination of bringing the snow I had been chasing for 20 years to my front door instead of trying to travel the world to find it, while being close to town,” said Basich. He’s three miles from a paved road, five miles from a small grocery store, and 15 minutes from meeting his friends in Truckee.
