We assess, plan, design and strategize solely for projects in alpine environments.
01 History
02 Experience
03 Expertise
04 Clients
05 Culture
06 Leadership
07 Collaboration
01 History
It all started for us in the 1970's when founder Mike Larson assumed operational and planning positions for the internationally recognized Vail Resorts group. Early on he was an original member of the team that developed award winning Beaver Creek Resort and later, as the director of planning for Vail Resorts, was integral in establishing Vail as one of the top mountain destinations in the world. The successes of these resorts earned Mike a global reputation for the unique ability to technically, yet creatively, solve the complex challenges in the evolving ski and mountain resort marketplace. As such, he established an independent practice founded on his unmatched expertise and experiences.
02 Experience
In the 40+ years since our story began, the firm has since completed thousands of diverse alpine projects across nearly every continent in the world. We remain committed as ever to being the world's foremost mountain planning firm, fostering the long-term relationships we've built along the way, forging new partnerships with like minded people, and helping to bring unmatched alpine destinations from vision to reality. We’ve extended our capacity by establishing a strategic partnerships with firms like Design Workshop, a global leader in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design founded in Aspen. With our expansive global network of planning, architecture, engineering and resort operations partners, we have the reach and confidence to handle any task.
03 Expertise
We are globally recognized leaders in this niche market of mountain destination & resort planning. Our expertise within it is wide ranging, from comprehensive and complex master plan documents to detailed and localized site plans. They can be all encompassing or focused on ski facilities and infrastructure; base area and village developments; integrated resort residential areas; and/or recreational activities and amenities. We can design a new international destination resort from scratch for one client while analyzing whether adding summer activities makes sense for another. Each project we undertake, regardless of scope or size, receives practical, integrated solutions that are cost-effective, user-friendly, constructible, and operable.
Mountain Resorts & Destinations
Ski Areas
Villages & Base Areas
Neighborhoods & Communities
Recreational Amenities
Narrowing our focus to these core disciplines and locations allows us to bring better insights, a greater variety of educated alternatives, and an intrinsic value to how to achieve optimal results.
Spencer Stanek | Mountainworks CEO
04 Clients
We are privileged to include among our client list some of the most progressive private and public entities. These clients include mountain resorts, ski areas, communities, private land-owners, developers, governmental organizations, and visionaries. Whether large or small, well established in their market or diversifying their offerings, we establish whats important to each one them. We utilize our expertise and experience to critically analyze the options, offering alternative viewpoints and thoughtful new ideas along the way.
Together with our clients, we innovate dynamic solutions to complex challenges and prioritize achievable steps that lead to measurable results.
We understand that the work we do is not just about planning and design. It is about listening the specific needs of our diverse clients, discovering opportunities, exploring solutions, creating value, and ultimately delivering projects that provide memorable experiences for the end-user.
05 Culture
We live and breath the thin mountain air each and every day. With our headquarters located at 10,200’ / 3,110m outside of Vail in the alpine village of Leadville, Colorado, we are fortunate to draw inspiration from our ‘backyard’ each and every day. We have planning, operations, strategy and project management team members located in Argentina, Sweden, Japan, China, and Andorra. We volunteer our time and expertise with the bike club, we close the shop on powder days for first tracks on the local ski hill, we wave to strangers, we like to dig in to the things that matter. Simply put ... we understand mountain culture and community, and know what it means to create places rooted in soul and authenticity.
06 Leadership
Spencer Stanek
CEO & President
With 23 years of planning experience with Mountainworks, Spencer leads the firm and has hands on involvement with all projects. His direct experience includes hundreds of resort specific projects spanning 6 continents. He's as confident leading a meeting with top level execs as he is leaning in to big mountain line on his skis. When not visiting clients in the mountains of far off lands, you can find Spencer chasing his kids through the trails of the Colorado high country.
Mike Larson
Founding Principal
With over 40 years of ski area and mountain resort expertise, including 20 years as Vail Resorts internal mountain planner, Mike provides clients with vast knowledge and experience from countless successful project implementations across the globe. As a company Principal, he provides design and experiential oversight on the firm’s projects. His background in mountain operations allows him to provide buildable, cost-effective solutions that are grounded in reality.
We believe in collaboration philosophically and in practice. We’ll lead the way, ask the tough questions and present viable solutions, but recognize no one knows your resort or destination like you and your team. Creating solutions to design problems in an inclusive context where decision-making is transparent yields more comprehensive, thorough and accountable project outcomes. It takes both confidence and humility to practice this way. The complexity of most design challenges are best addressed by a complement of people, disciplines and expertise. Together with our clients and their internal team, everyone’s viewpoint counts. We discover solutions together and ask colleagues of varying expertise and experience for their input. We define problems, set goals, test concepts, seek feedback, iterate and measure outcomes.
07 Collaboration