Camp Arrowhead Where Big Sky Merges with the Wilds of Africa
By Carol Ferrie
Photos by Karl Newmann
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Camp Arrowhead Lodge -
Big Sky, Montana
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Henry “Rip” McIntosh tells a familiar story. He visited Montana more than 50 years ago and has dreamed about coming back ever since then.
Three years ago his dream came true. It sits nestled in Big Sky’s Beehive Basin, at the tip of a 30-acre parcel shaped like an arrowhead. Now he can sit at his desk and take in panoramic views of his dream.
Aptly named “Camp Arrowhead,” the McIntosh’s log home and guest house were designed with family in mind. It was created as a place for McIntosh, his wife Susan, their family, and friends to hang their skis, fly rods, and the occasional memento from an African safari—like the cape buffalo head proudly mounted on the massive two-story moss rock fireplace.
Florida is the primary residence of the McIntosh clan, which consists of three children and five grandchildren. “I see more of them in Montana than I do in Florida,” Rip said with a chuckle. The family makes frequent visits to Camp Arrowhead in the Winter and Summer.
Although the 6,000-square-foot main house with its large three bedrooms and three baths will accommodate much of the family, “We didn’t want everyone under one roof,” McIntosh said, so the three-bedroom, three-bath guest house was built. Grandchildren are easily entertained with a tipi to bunk down in on warm Summer nights. A collection of arcade games in the basement of the main house “keep the grandkids happy on a blizzardy night,” he said—as the wine cellar does for the adults.
McIntosh decided on a log home package from Hearthstone Log Homes after seeing a friend’s Hearthstone home. Rather than traditional rounded log exterior and interior, Hearthstone’s logs have flat surfaces. JoDean Bing of Blue Ribbon Builders, the general contractor for Camp Arrowhead, calls this design an “Appalachian style” for the geographical area where the flat, adze-faced log homes are more commonly seen.
Between 10 and 24 inches thick, the Eastern White Pine and Douglas Fir logs were hand-hewn to specifications at the Hearthstone headquarters in North Carolina and then loaded on a truck to be assembled on site. Before the vacuum-kiln dried logs were assembled, each one was hand textured with an adze. The dovetail joinery prevents movement once the logs are fit together.
McIntosh said he enjoyed the science that was involved in designing the house; without the expertise of an architect, he worked with Hearthstone and the team at Blue Ribbon Builders to work out every detail of the house. Doug Bing, owner of Blue Ribbon, agreed that it was fun to craft many of the features as the house was being built. “Consequently it becomes a very personalized home,” Bing said.
The planning anticipated plenty of snow, at the 8,200-foot elevation. A14-inch-thick roof made of foam panels can support 185 pounds of snow per square foot and an underground electric heating system keeps snow melted in the driveway.
The flat-surfaced logs are an appropriate backdrop for showcasing the unique mix of furnishings and accessories that clearly reveal two of McIntosh’s deepest passions—Montana and Africa. The activities that they enjoy are evident from the first step over the threshold into the window-lined breezeway leading to the house from the garage. A collection of fishing-themed baseball caps, fly rods, and a ski boot and glove drying rack offer a sportsman’s welcome to Camp Arrowhead.
Radiant-heated flagstone flows through the main floor of the house. Against the Eastern
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Camp Arrowhead Lodge -
Big Sky, Montana
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White Pine walls, it is like a river bed meandering through a forest of trees. One of many personal touches, a chiseled stone in the shape of an arrowhead, is prominently placed in the center of the entry way. Another flagstone formation in the floor of the great room was designed to resemble an elephant.
Doug Bing recommended that McIntosh opt for eight-foot doorways with solid, hand-hewn alder doors inside the house to blend with the massiveness of the house. Handmade gate-latch iron hardware that adorns the over-sized doors creates the feel of being in a castle.
Adding to the other elements of nature throughout the house is a granite10-by-6-foot center island that separates the kitchen from the great room. Granite counters sit atop alder cabinets that were customized to accommodate five-foot, one-inch Susan, who loves to cook. The Viking gas stove also is positioned at a 30-inch height rather than the standard 36 inches. Alder panels that match the kitchen cabinetry were applied to the front of the refrigerator and two dishwashers so the appliances would blend with the abundance of cabinets.
A unique, custom six-foot round dining table that has a copper top, built-in lazy susan and a pedestal made from a Canadian cedar tree stump is the ideal place to gather round for après ski meals. The table is the centerpiece of the open floor plan that allows for everyone to interact whether they are cooking, eating, curled up with a book in front of the fireplace or sitting on a leopard-print barstool enjoying a libation at the copper-topped wet bar.
Merging the Western and African cultures, which the McIntoshes have done so well
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Camp Arrowhead Lodge -
Big Sky, Montana
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throughout the house, an African shield and spear are mounted above oil paintings of moose and bear that hang behind the wet bar. Next to the bar, near the doorway to the master bedroom, McIntosh worked with Rick Zaik of CenterMark Industries to design a built-in, fiber-optic lit shadow box to display a collection of wood carvings that characterize African tribal deity. Zaik made most of the wood furniture pieces in the house, including the cabinets, bookshelves, dining table, and entertainment center.
As in all of the west-facing rooms, the master bedroom’s floor-to-ceiling window gives an up-close and personal look at Lone Peak, particularly through the telescope situated near the window. Planed, whitewashed logs in the bedroom and natural light streaming through the large windows combine to create a brilliant, private haven.
Once again bringing nature indoors, a custom log bed made by Beartooth Designs, with a ragged-edged tree stump “growing” from the center of the headboard, is the showpiece of the master suite. Not to be forgotten, the McIntosh’s lhasa apso, Shibutu, has his own log bed with leather canopy. If he needs a bath before bed, Shibutu has his own dog shower and bath in the garage.
McIntosh also commissioned Beartooth Designs to make a life-size wooden bear for the guest powder room near the entryway. The bear is in the corner of the bathroom, appearing to hold the trout-emblazoned pottery sink.
Two guest bedrooms upstairs — one with several bunks and the other with two queen beds — provide ample room for visitors, who greet the morning with another spectacular view of Lone Peak seen through the front windows from the loft hallway, which is accented with a log railing draped with zebra pelts.
Overflow guests have the privacy of the Camp Arrowhead guest house, a 1,500-square-foot, two-story cottage behind the main house but still with its own unobstructed view of Lone Peak from west-facing windows. Blue Ribbon general manager Kevin Ott said that before construction of a house even starts, they determine its position by “centering” it so the surrounding peaks are in a direct line of sight from each window.
The guest house, occasionally rented to vacationers, has similar Western décor to the main house — slate floor, adzed log beams spanning the ceiling and some log furniture. A full kitchen, laundry room, and outdoor hot tub make it an ideal mountain getaway.
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Camp Arrowhead Sign -
Big Sky Montana
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McIntosh invested in a complex solar power system to supplement electricity in the main house and gives two reasons for it—he believes it is better for the environment and it saves him money on electric bills. Photovoltaic panels and a windmill convert solar energy to electricity for the house and a battery bank consisting of 24 batteries in the basement stores the power that is generated during sunny days. A net-metering agreement with the electric company provides a means to sell electricity back to the company if his solar system generates more than he uses, which it often does since the only part of the house used year round is a caretaker’s apartment above the garage.
Even though the McIntoshes live their Montana dream only half of the year, the fact that they live it is enough for them.
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