Mount Charleston retreat has the views

A-frame chalet nestled atop Echo Canyon

LOUIS Castle, a Las Vegas video game designer, and his family have spent two decades escaping to their A-frame chalet with panoramic views of the Spring Mountains, spacious decks, a fireplace and a wraparound bar in the great room.

The more than 4,128-square-foot home, nestled atop Echo Canyon, a small subdivision on Mount Charleston, opens to the mountain air, sweet with creosote bush and pines. Originally built by Las Vegas real estate attorney Albert Marquis, it was designed according to season, maintaining warmth in the winter when the sun is low, and staying cool in the summer by its eaves blocking the sun.

“We’ve had a few white Christmases up here,” Castle said, standing under the chandelier with a floor-toceiling windows behind him.

“I love sitting by the fire in the winter. When you’re sitting in here, you don’t see any other homes. You just see the mountain.”

Castle and his family first stayed at the home on Crestview Drive in the 1990s, renting it for a week over Christmastime. They fell in love with the house. Shortly after, it went on the market. Four years later it was on the market again and they bought it as a second home.

“This is the place where you come, if you’re a native Las Vegan, to get away from the heat,” he said. “I’ve hiked almost all the trails. I used to run up here in high school. Trail Canyon is just a short walk up the road here and it goes up to the rim

trail that goes all the way around the canyon. Cathedral Rock’s right over there. Beautiful view.”

But, he said, “The kids are all grown now. We just don’t get up here quite as often. So, I think it’s just time. We just don’t use it as much as we used to.”

The two-bedroom, three-bath home that sleeps 16 comfortably (pullout sofa beds and bunk beds) is back on the market with surround-sound speakers and hot tub on its bottom deck for winter evening soaks among the pines.

Listed at $1.2 million, it comes with a two-car garage, a full-sized kitchen, dining area and great room,

Tonya Harvey Real Estate Millions This home at Mount Charleston has a wraparound deck with views of the Spring Mountains and a forest of pine trees. It’s on the market for $1.2 million.

The home’s living room is large and features floor-to-ceiling windows to catch the sweeping mountain views.