Backcountry Education

Within three years of our big launch, Tracker DTS had taken over the U.S. market. And it was gaining traction in Europe, touching off some heated competition that later became known by industry insiders as the “Beacon Wars.”

We’d done it: graduated from Bruno’s garage to a real office/warehouse space in North Boulder. But there was some work to do: the shop smelled like 20W-50 and there was still a car on blocks inside, without a transmission. In the office, an old search warrant was laying on the floor. Our neighbors included the Boulder Homeless Shelter and the Bustop Gentleman’s Club (a.k.a. strip joint). Our new space in this glamorous neighborhood would be Mission Control for our launch of Tracker DTS, the world’s first digital avalanche transceiver.

Alpine Trekker production got off to a rough start, but the bar was low, and the final product was a lot better than Secura-fix, whose New York-based distributor was a legendary stiff that retailers couldn’t wait to leave behind. The first year we operated out of Bruno’s garage on W. Moorhead Circle in South Boulder.

In this five-part series, we’ll uncover the origins of BCA, how our products were conceived, the role we’ve played in our exploding industry, and where the path has led since our acquisition in 2013. Where will it go from here? Who knows? And we’re not going to tip our hand. But there’s lots of inspiration to be found in our past and in our present.

For years we've been aware that electronic devices, metallic objects, and even foil energy bar wrappers, may interfere with an avalanche transceiver search. Despite this, many users are still unclear about which devices may impact a search, and there are no identified strategies for dealing with interference during a search. This study explores the sources and proposes some practical search strategies to address them.