The Big Sky Community Foundation held its annual autumn fundraiser Saturday at the Meadow Village clubhouse. The big ticket item this year was a package of four day passes to the Yellowstone Club, donated anonymously by a member who asked not to be identified. The passes sold out in twenty minutes.

Organizers said the Yellowstone Club package raised more than the rest of the silent auction combined. The winning bidders included a retired couple who bought their condo in 1998 and a tech executive who helicoptered in from Salt Lake City for the weekend. Both parties told volunteers the passes were for their grandchildren.

“Our grandkids live in Denver but they visit every Christmas,” said Dale Hargrove, 72, who has skied Lone Mountain since the triple chair was new. “They’re getting pretty good. Might as well let them see how the other half lives.”

The tech executive, who declined to give his name, said nearly the same thing. His grandchildren live in Austin. They visit in March. He said the Yellowstone Club has better snow grooming.

The Yellowstone Club sits on the other side of the ridge from Big Sky Resort. It is the subject of more conversation here than the weather. The working-class residents of Meadow Village talk about it the way people talk about a volcano — with resentment, fascination, and a certain grudging respect. The newer residents of Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks talk about it the way people talk about a country club they almost joined.

Everyone in Big Sky knows someone who works at the Yellowstone Club. Almost no one knows a member.

The foundation raised forty thousand dollars for the community food bank. The food bank serves both populations, though they come on different Tuesdays. The volunteers try not to notice.

Dale Hargrove said he hasn’t skied the Yellowstone Club since a charity day in 2003. He remembers the grooming. He remembers the lunch. He also remembers the look on the member’s face when he asked how much a membership cost.

“The man laughed,” Hargrove said. “Then he said, ‘If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.’ I still think about that line.”

Hargrove’s granddaughter is twelve. She skis harder than he does now. He bought the passes with a check. The tech executive used Apple Pay. The foundation director said both checks cleared.

The passes expire in April. The grandchildren have not been notified.