Tahoe Mountain Lab has a satellite facility at Heavenly Mountain Resort. Photo/Jamie Orr

By Michelle Robertson, San Francisco Chronicle
 
Aaron Rothschild starts most of his days about 6am. That way, he can finish up work in time to catch a few runs on the ski slopes. Some afternoons, he conducts meetings in the Squaw Valley Ski Resort parking lot with a “laptop between me and my steering wheel.”

The recent advent of telecommuting – a Gallup poll found at least 43 percent of Americans spent at least some time working remotely in 2016 – has enabled the rise of a new breed of ski bum. Unassuming in his beanie and laid-back demeanor, this individual blends into the ragtag fabric of a mountain town. He lives in his chosen domain year-round, but unlike other full-time residents, he does not depend on the unpredictable fall of snowflakes to stay afloat.

With its proximity to Silicon Valley, the greater Tahoe region has become an obvious weekend escape for the tech jetset. These “weekend warriors” are known to flood the ski resorts and snap up second homes along the lake, and their high incomes (and willingness to spend them) is most welcome to locals.

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