Backcountry Access releases Avalanche Group Search video and kicks off 2021 Freeskier Safety Week

December 8, 2021

/OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – Access (BCA) announces a new educational video “Avalanche Group Search Techniques: Searching in Parallel.” The new BCA video demonstrates how to conduct an avalanche search with multiple people using their beacons in tandem to find both single and multiple burials in an avalanche. This video is part of 2021 Freeskier Safety Week that is running from December 6th through the 10th at Freeskier.com.

BCA co-founder Bruce Edgerly and Jim Conway, avalanche course instructor for the American Avalanche Institute, narrate the video and present the proper protocol for multiple rescuer scenarios that may arise in the backcountry. The BCA group search video details proper avalanche group search techniques such as “lane discipline” when establishing search strips and when to abandon your search strip to perform the coarse and fine search with your avalanche transceiver. It also shows how to manage “rogue signals” and best practices for communication and leadership on the avalanche debris pile.

As to why BCA has chosen to share this information on group searching, Edgerly notes, “We’ve practiced group searching in our annual ambassador training workshops, and everyone involved was asking, ‘Why isn’t anybody teaching this?’ We hope this video will provide a resource for educators interested in including this in their courses.”

And about the focus on group vs. individual searching techniques, Edgerly continues, “We think there’s too much focus in rescue workshops on one person doing all the beacon searching in a multiple burial while the others only provide support. This comes from the guiding world where the guide’s skills are usually far superior to the guests’. But in the majority of recreational settings, most users are decent enough at beacon searching, so why not take advantage of that? This turns a complex series of searches done consecutively by one person into a straightforward set of single searches done by several people simultaneously.”

Providing access to avalanche education resources is at the heart of 2021 Freeskier Safety Week and why BCA has chosen to partner in this digital education series.

“We like working with Freeskier because their viewers and readers are passionate about the sport, and many are getting into the backcountry for the first time,” Edgerly explains. “We believe it’s our duty not only to sell them equipment but also to provide them with the knowledge that will keep them from getting caught in avalanches—and encourage them to learn more and practice with their gear.”

For a complete listing of educational offerings from the 2021 Freeskier Safety Week, visit Freeskier.com. To view more of Backcountry Access’s avalanche safety content, visit backcountryaccess.com/learn.

About Backcountry Access

Backcountry Access (BCA) is a leading manufacturer of snow safety equipment, including Tracker avalanche beacons, Float avalanche airbags, BC Link radios, MtnPro snowmobile gear, Stealth avalanche probes, and Dozer avalanche shovels. BCA’s mission is to save lives, not just sell products. BCA considers avalanche education is as important as its avalanche safety equipment and delivers all its products with consumer education and knowledgeable customer service.