Tahoe Mountain Lab joins the Mountain Coworking Alliance!

New Mountain Coworking Alliance (MCA) launches with free coworking days in Jackson Hole, Lake Tahoe, Aspen, Vail and Summit County for their members

A new mountain town coworking alliance provides reciprocal membership benefits to give traveling workers and skiers the chance to work and play at the top ski resorts in the country.

Aug. 2014 – This season skiers and snowboarders can travel to a top-rated ski resort to … work. More than six coworking spaces have opened in mountain towns in the past year from Jackson Hole to Summit County and from Lake Tahoe to Vail.

Why? Coworking spaces (video) offer startups, entrepreneurs, business owners, students, corporate workers and vacationers a flexible and affordable place to work and gather in a collaborative environment. The first coworking space in America opened in San Francisco in 2005. Since then, the concept has spread through major cities around the country. Now, the shared workspace movement is moving up to the mountains.

"It was only natural for the co-working phenomenon to reach mountain towns, and now we're really seeing an explosion of people coming to the mountains to play and also wanting a place to get work done. The rise in coworking spaces in ski towns in Tahoe, Colorado and Jackson Hole is giving people an opportunity to have affordable, collaborative and productive spaces to work while living or visiting the mountains." says Megan Michelson, co-founder Tahoe Mill Collective, located at Alpine Meadows, California.

The Mountain Co-Working Alliance offers members two free days at the participating spaces, including:

Tahoe Mill Collective in North Lake Tahoe (near Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley): http://www.tahoemill.com

Tahoe Mountain Lab in South Lake Tahoe (near Heavenly): https://coworktahoe.com

Spark Jackson Hole in Jackson Hole: http://www.sparkjh.com

ELEVATE in Frisco, Colorado (near Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail and Copper Mountain): http://elevatecospace.com

Base Camp in Avon, Colorado (near Vail and Beaver Creek): http://www.vailleadership.org/basecamp/

River CoWorks in Basalt, Colorado (near Aspen/Snowmass): http://www.rivercoworks.com

To take advantage of the two free reciprocal days, workers must be have a membership at their home co-working space and must contact the visiting co-working space at least a week in advance to make arrangements. Space is offered pending availability.

“Mountain town coworking spaces are a gathering place for people united by the belief that an inspiring place helps us do our most inspiring work,” says Megan Beck, co-founder of Spark JH in Jackson Hole and vice president of development for Vittana.

The Mountain Coworking Alliance capitalizes on another trend - skiers and snowboarders who plan multiple trips within one ski season to different resorts. This has been driven, in part, by the popularity of affordable multi-resort season passes like the Mountain Collective and Epic Pass. The Mountain Coworking Alliance now provides flexible places to work with access to more than a dozen of the top-rated ski resorts in the country ranging from Jackson Hole to Aspen and from Heavenly to Breckenridge.

“Mountain co-working spaces give people the launching pad to pursue their passions – whether that means more days on the ski slopes or collaborating with other smart, fun people to bring their big ideas to life,” says Amy Kemp, co-founder of ELEVATE, a new space and community gathering spot opening in Frisco, Colo. on Oct. 1. “Mountain towns are dynamic places that have always attracted risk takers and adventurers who push the limits on the trails as well as in business. They’re exciting and inspiring place to be. The challenge is - we haven’t had a gathering spot or way to focus all of these great ideas and connect our local community with our visitors in a meaningful, productive way. Now we do. Co-working is the solution.”

According to Jamie Orr, co-Founder of Tahoe Mountain Lab in South Lake Tahoe, “The mountain co-working spaces create a place for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers to collaborate and thrive. As an example, Tahoe Mountain Lab has become a hub of activity for the community in a way that just wouldn't happen in a big city, and we love seeing the impact we're having both inside and outside our office walls."

The Mountain Co-Working Alliance reciprocal program starts Nov. 1. For more information about the program, contact the co-working spaces:

Megan at Tahoe Mill Collective: [email protected]
Jamie at Tahoe Mountain Lab: [email protected]
Megan at Spark Jackson Hole: [email protected]
Amy or Julia at ELEVATE: [email protected] or [email protected]
Brad or Doug at Base Camp: [email protected]
Steve at River CoWorks: [email protected]