Updated Feb 2024
Ahhhh, the Rocky Mountains, drink them in… For many, these beautiful peaks represent opportunity and serve as a beacon of the pinnacle lifestyle of work/life balance here in Colorado, which is consistently ranked on the top places to live in the US. The Rockies are also the glorious backdrop of our ever-evolving tech communities here in Denver, and other high-growth cities such as Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. As much as Colorado changes, our foundation, our DNA, lies with the Rockies.
In this, we know the watercooler conversations of the Front Range area are always dominated with people sharing stories of past or future powder days, first tracks, and of course, shredding the gnar. There are few things that inspire more jealousy or FOMO in a Front Range office than boastings of bottomless weekday pow sessions and complaints of sore quads…
So, if you feel like you keep having to navigate terrible weekend traffic that just keeps getting worse while others shred during the week and get their work done too, we're revealing a few secrets of getting the most out of ski season, before it's gone!
So, the question is how can I maximize both my skiing in Colorado experience as well as staying on top of work responsibilities?
Fear not, we have the answers… Well, at least guidance we came up with to help you find happiness while you get to hit those sweet, sweet slopes. Luckily, if you are a tech employee and love communication tools like Slack, Zoom, Teams, so as long as you have some great WiFi, that’s half the battle.
Our Top Skiing Hacks:
1) Identify clients, colleagues, and partners who ski. Multitask on the mountain!
- Winter and spring skiing is our summer golf, and nothing builds lasting trust and strong relationships like enjoying the mountains and chairlift conversations of business or leisure. We have 3 epic mountains within approximately one hour’s drive from Denver:
- You can shred and be back by lunch. Buy early season 4-packs or corporate passes and share the stoke! Offer passes to their employees or families if you can’t use them. Our mountain of choice is Loveland Pass, especially for working here's why:
- All-mountain cell coverage
- Soulful slopes
- No crowds
2) Discover budding mountain coworking spaces All Over CO!
- These coworking spaces all offer day pass options (key for drop-ins, keep in mind hours are usually 8AM-5PM for day use), provide fast internet, conference rooms, and plenty of options for a morning coffee. Having a second working haven means you can crush some business after slaying the pow, and/or cutting some corduroy.
- Once you find your prime remote work location, your friends will look longingly on you, already deep in the Après mode... Probably giving you a look like this from across the room:
REmote Work Spots:
Gravity Haus (Locations: Vail, Breckinridge, Winter Park, Steamboat Springs)
Perks:
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- Unravel Coffee / breakfast options
- Private Work Pods
- Conference Room
- Printers + Kitchenette
- Dog-friendly (at some locations)
- Shared Desks + Shared Offices
Winter Park - Moon Frog Coffee
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- Unique Drinks
- Plenty of Parking
- 5 minutes from the base
Breckenridge - COOL RIVER Coffee House + ULLR CAFE
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- So many spots in Breck, all with great views and vibes
- Grab a bite to eat & a quick beer before heading back up on the Gondola
Keystone - House of Vibes + Steep Brewing & Coffee
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- House of Vibes (in Silverthorne, just passed the i-70 exit) has lots of seating and is next to a great pizza joint
- Steep is a 2-minute drive from the River Run parking lot at Keystone Resort, serving your bevie of choice
Frisco - Outer Range Brewing
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- Oh, Outer Range, how we love you. Food, beer, coffee, and views of Lake Dillon for days.
- Open all day, indoor and outdoor seating
Vail - Entrepreneurs’ Basecamp + simpatiCOWORKING (Eagle)
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- In addition to Gravity Haus, Vail has a range of public and private co-working options
- From Basecamp to village coffee shops, Vail has a range of options for remote workers
Steamboat Springs - The Ski Locker - Steamboat
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- Downtown Steamboat prime location
- Day pass, week pass, and conference room rental options for short-term users.
- Fiber WiFi (video calls for days)!
- Coffee, La Croix, and tea.
Snowmass - Engage Coworking
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- Day pass and Punch Pass options make going here really easy.
- Snacks, shower, printer/copier, and sit-stand desks make sure you're going to be comfy, clean, fed, and productive.
- High-speed WiFi
Crested Butte - Cement Creek Commons
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- The most reasonably priced of the bunch and 24/7 access with conference room access... You know what, we might be moving to Crested Butte... Sadly, we are just kidding, but no one will deny that their pricing is a DEAL!
- Very cool, laidback, and unique cabin/lodge/bar vibe.
- Also available for event rentals.
3) Try Eldora's Ski/Board AND Work on Fridays
- Go to Eldora, meet some new people, and then take turns watching each other's computers and hitting the slopes. Definitely on the less formal side (just like Eldora) than a coworking space, but definitely a uniquely Colorado experience and an opportunity to build that ski/board/work-buddy network.
- You can get all the information for this HERE.
4) Embrace that Crushing work and hitting the slopes do not have to be mutually exclusive. Seize the day!
- The “Powder Day” employee benefit: Yes, it's a thing! IF/when there is a powder day coming up, you can skip work. Fantastic, right? Some companies including these 9 companies in Utah and a bunch based in CO allow and/or require (yes please) their employees to play hooky if it’s a powder day. Usually, there is a limit of the total number of days, but it’s cool to know you can ask and it’s not unprecedented.
- HomeAdvisor, in Golden, CO, encourages sales reps who meet their weekly quota by Thursday, to get to the mountains on Friday during ski season. We will take a moment to toot our horn here, we have lots of clients who are open to this idea... Maybe we can help you find the dream job have been looking for?
Here at BWBacon Group, we know and live what you are experiencing as an employer or job seeker in Denver, Boulder, Dallas, San Francisco, New York City or any of the other cities we work in. We believe great recruiting starts and ends with understanding people.
If you have any questions about living, working or playing any of the areas we serve, please contact us. We are happy to help. Seize the day, every day, that’s what we say!