While testing BCA's very first product, the Alpine Trekker, back in 1994, Bruce Edgerly got completely buried in an avalanche near Berthoud Pass (CO). He and Trekker designer Bruce McGowan made a commitment to snow safety, teaming up with aging whiz kid John Hereford with the goal of reinventing avalanche transceivers. Together they started Backcountry Access (BCA), a company whose number one goal is to make backcountry skiing safer. Three years later, “Edge,” “Bruno,” and “Herf” launched their flagship product—the Tracker DTS avalanche beacon. The Tracker was released in 1997 and became an instant hit with backcountry enthusiasts because it was so easy to use, even under stressful, hurried conditions.

Today, Backcountry Access carries a full line of backcountry safety equipment. In addition to beacons, shovels and probes, BCA has developed the latest in airbag technology that is designed to keep an avalanche victim on top of the snow and out of harm's way. The Float airbag backpacks, which inflate with the assistance of a compressed air cylinder, also protect the wearer from blunt force trauma.

BCA also manufactures the BC Link, a winterized radio with a remote speaker mic to help you keep in contact with your group, optimized for use with BCA's popular Stash packs. Did you know BCA was the first company to develop freezeproof winter hydration? Now, in addition to stashing your hydration tube in one shoulder strap, you can stash your BC Link speaker mic in the other.

BCA realizes that, with the development of life-saving products comes a certain duty to educate, and to that end it has fulfilled its responsibility. Not only does BCA's site feature educational material and numerous snow safety videos, but the company has set up nearly 100 beacon training parks across North America to help people practice with their beacons. Other resources that BCA has sponsored include beacon checkpoints at backcountry gates and huge support to youth-oriented safety programs. In fact, Edge says they consider education just as important in the backcountry as a beacon, shovel, or probe. Coming from the guys who make the equipment, that says a lot.

The folks at BCA look at their jobs as much more than selling products: they're saving lives. Through research, education, and innovation, Backcountry Access is making backcountry skiing a safer, more accessible sport for all of us.