Working remotely at a ski resort now a reality

By Kathryn Reed

A powder day or work? The choice just got easier – at least for those who can work remotely.

Tahoe Mountain Lab and Heavenly Mountain Resort are partnering this winter to provide people a space to work on the mountain.

“I really have found myself on the mountain needing a place to work and not able to,” David Orr told Lake Tahoe News. Either the Internet connection wasn’t there or the quiet place to conduct business didn’t exist. Now both will.

Orr is one of the owners and founders of Tahoe Mountain Lab, a shared work space in the center of South Lake Tahoe. This satellite office will be known as Lakeview Mountain Lab because it is inside Lakeview Lodge at the top of Heavenly’s tram.

Today the space is used for weddings. By December, when the lab will open, there will be 16 desks in the 800-square-foot area. Time will be charged hourly, with rates not locked in stone – but likely will be between $10 and $20. Drop-ins are OK, but no promises there will be space.

This is the view workers from Lakeview Mountain Lab will have. Photo/LTN file

For those who know they’ll need to get a little work done in between making turns, lockers will be provided at the lab for computers and the like.

The lab will use software and hardware from Cobot to manage the workspace. As people’s time is about to expire, a message will pop up asking if they want to continue or end the session. Codes will be given out that allow prepaid workers access and no one else.

Orr doesn’t anticipate needing an employee to be on site. Heavenly will have staff available if someone needs something.

This is the first such work space at a ski resort in the United States.

“Office space is anyplace you want to be on the planet. Anywhere you can sit down and get a wireless connection is a virtual office space,” Coop Copper with Heavenly told Lake Tahoe News. “We think we are going to see pretty good traffic through there. This gives you that nice quiet space.”

Vail Resorts, parent company of Heavenly, will see how this workspace functions before deciding to expand it to other locations on the mountain or to other resorts.

It will be open the same hours the resort is.

Orr admits this is an experiment. He won’t make projections for how busy the on-mountain lab will be.

“We expect people on the mountain are with their families and want to get their work hammered out and get back on the mountain. We assume people want to do the bare minimum so they can feel comfortable about their work and take off,” Orr said.

That’s why it’s an hourly rate instead of something longer. Skiing is the No. 1 activity, the work thing is secondary at best in this situation. The difference though will be having that connectivity and quiet space that until now has been elusive at a ski resort.

The space can also be rented out by businesses if they want to do a workshop or the like on the mountain.

For info or to reserve a time slot for this season, go online.