The glamorous US ski resorts the hoi polloi don’t know about

“No, that’s not true,” said the Lone Mountain Land Company representative. “The Yellowstone Club does not have a satellite monitoring its ski area for intruders.”

I can’t say I’m not disappointed that despite it being a scurrilous rumour, the most exclusive and expensive ski resort in the world doesn’t have a satellite, let alone a laser beam zapping those who stray onto its private mountain in southwestern Montana. But it’s easy to be duped about ‘YC’ excess, whose members are reported to include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake, and J. Lo.

Neighbouring the ‘YC’ is the ski resort of Big Sky, where the adjoining Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peak clubs do open their doors to wealthy outsiders. Moonlight Basin offers luxury rental apartments and lodges, while the five-star Montage hotel in Spanish Peaks has rooms at $2,000 and penthouse suites at $15,000 a night.

However, matching the range of Vail, Aspen’s or Deer Valley’s density of luxury hotels isn’t the aim in this corner of Montana: it’s the quality, exclusivity and laid-back approach that draws in a certain kind of well-heeled, quiet American.