Silicon Valley’s High Tech Mountain Retreat
A gated community situated between North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, Calif., counts among its members bigwigs from Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, and Google. While North Lake Tahoe is a four-hour drive from Silicon Valley, Martis Camp serves as a year-round second-home getaway.
The homes have rustic touches and incorporate rugged materials, but community members are not exactly roughing it. The luxury mountain homes in the community start in the $2 million range, and the community buildings such as the lodge and library are all LEED-certified. The 2,000-plus acre community has an 18-hole golf course, a high-speed quad lift providing a six-minute trip to the Northstar at California Resort for skiing, 26 miles of trails for hiking/snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, as well as dining venues, fitness center and vitality pools.
Will such upscale communities become standard for the titans of Silicon Valley? Homes in Martis Camp sold for a total of more than $90 million in 2011 and $27.6 million so far this year.
The following slides single out one of the houses on the market.
By Colleen Kane
Posted 16 May, 2012
Mountain Getaway
Location: Truckee, Calif.
Price: 11.85 million
Bedrooms: 4+
Bathrooms: 5 full, 2 partial
Square Footage: 7,188
The contemporary mountain retreat is made primarily of western red cedar, black mountain granite, steel panels and steel beams, with a copper roof and mahogany window frames. It has more than 2,800 square feet of outdoor terrace with a hot tub and views of Carson Range and Lookout Mountain.
Great Room
The home uses Creston whole home automation, which depending on its setup can adjust drapes, lights, temperature and audio-video components, using a touchscreen, remote or keypad. In the case of the great room pictured here, the skylight windows are powered for ventilation.
The room also has a temperature-controlled wine storage unit. A floor of Indian black limestone tiles extends to the outdoor space.
Master Suite
The two-sided fireplace in the master bedroom is made from black granite and mahogany with backlit quartz boxes. Upstairs is a window-walled meditation loft with gym flooring.
Dining Room
The dining room features a modern, flame-only gas fireplace by Spark Ribbon, which makes energy efficient and nearly carbon monoxide- and soot-free fire features. The room also has backlit onyx wall art.
Guest Room
The heating and cooling is done with zone-controlled hydronics, which uses water often in the form of radiant under-floor heating. For emergencies, the house is equipped with a backup generator.
Kitchen
The cook has plenty to look at while waiting for the pot to boil, with a German-engineered TV lift and views to the outdoors. The work space is equipped with the expected array of Viking Pro appliances, and has mahogany cabinetry with panels made from wild grass and acrylic.
Media Room
The three-screen movie room has a Moroccan theme and a Truckee river watershed mural with blue ostrich leather. If the movie room’s wall TVs aren’t enough, the nearby full wet bar has a telly as well. The bar is made from gold ostrich-leather and reclaimed wood from a 1930s Lake Tahoe pier. The walls are lined with recording studio foam, and the flooring is reclaimed oak.