A professional snowboarder in California figured out a genius way to get closer to the slopes. Mike Basich built this tiny 225-square-foot home in the middle of his 40-acre property near Truckee, Calif. He told Laura Ling from “Going off the Grid” about how he built his new digs by hand. “It took me five years — two and half years to do all the rock work. I think I moved about 175 ton of rock.”



Not only is the little house off the beaten path, it’s also off the grid. That means no Internet, no indoor plumbing, and no traditional electricity. Luckily for anyone wanting to take a shower or wash their hands, the property has two creeks that provide water for the home. The best part for Basich is the location. Not only can he snowboard on private trails, but the property even has its own chair lift that Basich built with the help of some friends. If you think this style of living is crazy, Basich is one of 180,000 Americans choosing to live off the grid. He says of the home, “I like to think of it as getting back to the basics of humanity. I like feeling connected to the earth more than I could with a 4,000-square-foot house.”









