Here's how 9 startup employees celebrated Colorado summer

by James Risley
September 14, 2016

We’re closing the book on another beautiful summer here in Colorado, and while it was filled with plenty of hefty funding rounds and some big startup news, plenty of people in the tech community took advantage of the summer. From individual excursions to company outings, techies were climbing mountains, exploring new hangouts and soaking up sun. Of course, there was also some coding going on at the bar and a few adventurous “meetings” as well.

We asked some of Colorado's startups about their favorite summer memories:

 

Alexa Mazur, Sales Manager at MOO

My boyfriend and his dog, Sneaks, have hiked and camped as often as possible this summer so we're no stranger to taking a Friday half day to beat the mountain traffic. I have to say my absolute favorite trip we took was to Crested Butte. Camping by a river was so peaceful and the views from our hike up Scarp Ridge with the wildflowers and 14'ners surrounding us were unreal. I'm sure the lack of cell service had a lot to contribute to our relaxation. Never mind the fact that we were nestled in such a quintessential mountain town...oh man, take me back!  

 

Ann Stewart Zachwieja, COO at Globig

One of the best things about Colorado summers is the beautiful evening weather, which pulls us outdoors every chance we get. My family has created outdoor spaces strung with lights that surround us with plants and shelter us with umbrellas. One of my favorite things to do is send out a quick mid-day text inviting friends, including my Globig team members, to come over for an impromptu gathering with whatever is in the fridge or pantry. Nothing is better than great friends and conversation lasting long into the warm night.

 

Monica Peotter, Field Marketing Manager at Cloud Elements

At Cloud Elements, we love when the weather gets warmer so we can hit the trails. It's nice to get out of the office and enjoy the amazing Colorado summer with co-workers. We try to hike on Friday's once a month up in Golden, Boulder and around Red Rocks. We have been known to run into a few rattlesnakes during our company hike days, but it hasn't slowed us down! It's sad to see the summer go but we have company ski days coming up to keep us busy.

 

Mary Grace Stocker, Associate Product Manager at Dobot

My favorite summer memory in Colorado was skiing Quandary Peak's Cristo Couloir. It's not only beautiful at the top but rewarding to know that you earned your turns by bootpacking all the way up and skiing all the way down, hooting and hollering for sure. The process: you wake up early, put your headlamp on, strap skis to your pack, hike in your ski boots to the edge of the mountain where the snow starts, put crampons on your boots, bootpack up (which takes a long time) the steep couloir one step at a time, and finally get to the top of the 14'er to enjoy a spectacular view. Then you put your skis on and enjoy awesome corn snow all the way down. This makes for one of the best summer adventures out there. It's a fun little weekend outing to get my mind off work and onto the gorgeous state that we live in — Colorado. Last year I skied Torreys, this year Quandary, and who knows what next summer will bring.

 

Hannah Davis, Program Director at MergeLane

Hard to pick a favorite, but a highlight was completing the 205-mile, 30-hour June Epic Relay Running race from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with 11 others friends. My expectations were low for this race since I was new to running (first race), and hate being in cars, but I was blown away with the joy I felt during and after this four-day adventure. Not only did I have to run three legs, totally almost 17 miles but there was little-to-no sleep involved and running happened day (97 degrees) and night (37 degrees). Adrenalin; enthusiastic, great friends; the Hamilton Soundtrack and a bluetooth disco light speaker got us through with (almost) all smiles.

 

Mackenzie Davids, Director of Customer Experience at Wishlist

A major highlight of my summer was renting a pontoon boat with friends on Horsetooth Reservoir. I am a Boulder native, but shamefully rarely spend time in the Fort Collins area. We lounged in huge flamingo floaties, went cliff jumping and had entirely too much fun with the on board water slide! To me, there's really no better recipe for a memorable experience than enjoying adventures with friends, in the ever-so-beautiful Colorado!

 

Piper Jackson-Sevy, Vice President of Growth at flytedesk

This summer flytedesk brought on 7 summer interns. It was pretty ambitious (we have 8 employees) but we received 125 applications from around the country, and there were 7 we couldn't live without. We modeled the internship after Techstars, so on Thursday nights we did "8:08s": weekly goal setting/retro meetings. We did something fun for each meeting: bowling, hiking, games at the office, etc. For the last 8:08, we all played bubble soccer and had a blast running into each other and knocking each other over.

Photo via Kevin J Beaty of Denverite

Ashley Dean, Reporter at Denverite

Some of my best memories this summer happened while sitting outside with a drink in hand (and, in one case, dancing and crying outside with a drink in hand). I developed an obsession with grapefruit cocktails, which I sent me all over this city in search of the optimal summer drinking experience, and cracked a Colorado beer on a Colorado glacier. Because what's the point of living in a city with 300 days of sunshine if you're not going to soak up every last ray? If any city demands you do your drinking outside, it's Denver.

 

Images via featured companies

What was your favorite part of this summer? Let us know on our tipline or on Twitter @BuiltInColorado

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