Learn the backcountry basics. BCA presents five key avalanche safety guidelines for skiing or riding in avalanche country.

Our BCA avalanche rescue education series shows you how to perform an avalanche rescue if your companion is buried.

It’s all here. Avalanche Education Courses, Handouts and Videos, Avalanche Conditions, Forecasts, and more.

We learn something new from every avalanche incident - whether it occurred in the backcountry or in-area.

Get the forecast! Please check in with one of the North American, EU or southern hemi avalanche centers for backcountry travel advisories listed here.

Avalanche education in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland or Italy. Find an avalanche course here.

Explore BCA's library of avalanche research, statistics, human factors and communication, rescue technology and techniques.

In episode one, "Wrangling Montana Cold Smoke with the Bozeman Crew," BCA athletes change their plans after reading the avalanche forecast and head to southwest Montana's Gallatin Range.

In episode two, "Chasing BC Pillows with the Canadian Hosers," the BCA sled crew snowmobile to some stellar backcountry skiing in Stewart, BC, after taking the measures to test snow stability.

In episode three, the Thunderstruck crew researches good routes that are safe to ride for the conditions. Watch and learn what all sledders need to do before heading out into the backcountry.

This handout provides an overview of backcountry planning, avalanche hazards and what to do if caught.

Research shows that avalanche airbags significantly improve chances of survival. This handout explains how to operate an avalanche airbag.

It is essential to practice beacon searching regularly. This handout explains the three phases of effective avalanche transceiver search.

Always carry and avalanche probe. This handout explains proper techniques for beacon search probing, spot probing, and organized probe lines.

Smart shoveling is critical as it consumes most of the time during an avalanche rescue. Learn best practices for rapidly digging out an avalanche victim.

Skiers and Snowboarders: Are you ready to ride safely in the backcountry? Download this 'backcountry must-haves handout' and share with a friend.

Snowmobilers: Are you ready to ride safely in the backcountry?  Download this 'backcountry must-haves 101' and share with a friend.

Download presentation here.

Download presentation here.

Tracker avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, Float airbags and BC Link group communication radios.

Get the goods without getting buried! Learn about essential avalanche safety and backcountry equipment.

Learn about essential avalanche safety training all backcountry riders need and how to keep your skills current.

Learn about how to get weather and avalanche forecasts, how to interpret the avalanche danger scale, and how to plan your day.

Get the big picture about the mountain and terrain and learn how to look for snow instability and avalanches.

Learn how to avoid terrain traps and how to help someone out of in hazardous areas.

Learn to read an avalanche forecast, use maps to plan a ski tour, and trailhead safety checks.

Learn the basic functions of an avalanche transceiver as well as precautions that skiers and snowboarders should take when travelling in backcountry terrain.

BCA sled ambassador and avalanche safety educator Mike Duffy demonstrates the basic functions of an avalanche transceiver and specific precautions for snowmobilers.

Having an avalanche transceiver is only valuable if you know how to use one. Learn the basics of beacon searching with the BCA.

This video takes you through the proper techniques for pinpointing or probing stage of avalanche search.

When buried in an avalanche, every second counts. Learn the most efficient shoveling and rescue extraction techniques.

In this video, we review the avalanche transceiver techniques and BCA Tracker modes that can be used to solve multiple burials in avalanche terrain.

BCA ambassador and American Avalanche Institute (AAI) co-owner Sarah Carpenter goes the through the steps to perform if your companion gets buried in an avalanche.

BCA ambassador and American Avalanche Institute (AAI) co-owner Sarah Carpenter shows how to administer first aid to an avalanche victim.

BCA ambassador and American Avalanche Institute (AAI) co-owner Sarah Carpenter shows how to evacuate an injured avalanche victim from the backcountry safely.

This video, produced by the National Avalanche Center, illustrates the ins-and-outs of the North American Avalanche Danger Scale.

Watch this video to learn how to maintain your Float airbag compressed air cylinder and how to prepare it for air travel.

Watch video to learn how to install and uninstall the BCA Float™ 2.0 avalanche airbag system. 

Watch how to install a BCA Float™ 2.0 cylinder and how to repack the airbag for the fastest deployment.

Watch video to learn how to safely install accessories like the BC Link radio into our BCA Float™ 2.0 avalanche airbags.

This video takes you through the steps to remove and install your BCA Float avalanche airbag system.

This video shows you how to install a BCA Float avalanche airbag air cylinder.

This video shows you how to repack your Float avalanche airbag.

This video shows you how to install BC Link radio cord, airbag trigger cable and/or hydration hose into a BCA Float avalanche airbag pack and shoulder sleeve.

This video shows you how to install accessories such as a BC Link™ radio or hydration hose in our Float™ MtnPro Vest avalanche airbag models.

This video provide instructions to authorized BCA refill on how to prepare Float 1.0 and 2.0 compressed air cylinders before refilling.

This video provide instructions to authorized BCA refill on how to refill Float air cylinders using two 3,000-psi SCUBA tanks and the BCA Dealer Float Refill Center Kit.

BCA Sled Ambassador Mike Duffy presents snowmobile backcountry safety protocol - avalanche safety education for the snowmobile crowd.

BCA sled ambassador Mike Duffy demonstrates the best ways to use a snowmobile during an avalanche transceiver search.

Learn the steps needed to perform an avalanche transceiver trailhead check with snowmobiles and how to ensure everyone's beacons are working correctly.

Learn the steps needed to perform an avalanche transceiver trailhead test and how to ensure everyone's beacons are working correctly before heading out on the trail.

Watch this video to learn how and when to use special (SP) mode on a BCA Tracker2 avalanche transceivers.

In this video, we show you how and when to use the Signal Suppression (SS) mode on a BCA Tracker3 avalanche transceiver.

In this video, we review how and when to use the Big Picture (BP) mode on a Tracker3 avalanche transceiver.

This video provides directions on how and why to use the auto revert (AR) mode on a BCA Tracker avalanche transceiver.

Watch this video to learn the advanced avalanche transceiver search techniques you can use for multiple avalanche burials.

Watch this video to review the methods that will help you pass the avalanche transceiver portion of a guiding exam.

Learn how to convert the D-2 EXT avalanche shovel from it's hoe mode to traditional shovel mode.

Watch video to learn how to calibrate your analog thermometer for accurate readings of snow and air temperatures in the backcountry.

Watch video to learn how to trim climbing skins to the correct length and sidecut width for your skis.

Finn has always said that the radio is one of the greatest avalanche safety tools you can have, and with this avalance incident, you can see why.

John Towne, his dog, and a couple friends were riding the backcountry at Mount Baker in early January 2017 when an avalanche broke. Luckily, he was riding with a Float 32.

Supposedly there are routes through Bear Creek that avoid avalanche slide paths, but Tim had not done his research.

Dustin was halfway across the northeast slope of Russell Mountain, trying to retrieve his lost ski, when a hard slab broke about 30 feet above him.

BCA's Bruce Edgerly discovered Japan's deep, v-shaped river valleys and horrendous terrain traps the hard way in the Kagura side country, stuck and alone.

Big approach, big down lines. With the Uintas Mountains notoriously weak continental snowpack, Weston heads out on a scouting mission.

For McKenna Peterson, turning around from a mountain objective provokes mixed emotions: disappointment, questioning, pride and relief.

Kyle Hansen recounts an avalanche that happened without him and his crew, as seen from the comfort of their tents while winter camping in the Selkirks.

Curtis Pawliuk and crew avoid an epic situation by paying attention to the snowpack around us, including an impressive avalanche that we triggered remotely.

BCA athlete Stu Edgerly recounts a rapidly warming day skiing on Colorado’s Mt. Arkansas—and how a plan B decision made for primo late season corn.

After being involved in two avalanches, Brandy Floyd has adjusted her need for a certain level of adrenaline with her need to stay alive on her snowbike and sled.

The day came to ski the Gore Trifecta, a physical all day trek up and down three challenging couloirs, and Mike Alkaitis had to make an un-epic decision.

Hiking uphill at sunrise, with a foot or more of snow in the last 24 hours, moderate temperatures, and increasing winds, warning signs abound for Sarah Carpenter and crew.

Seeing pinwheels and rollers from the top layers of snow on the steeper pitches was Dan’s telltale sign that loose, wet avalanche danger was present.

Bowled down by waist-high snow boulders, Carter’s Vermont backcountry experience reminds us that we are not immune to slides on the east coast.

Matt Wade skips a classic 14’er descent off Mount Sneffels, after matching objectives to snow conditions on nearby Stony Mountain, to score blower pow in Colorado’s majestic San Juans.

Nick Kozel's crew abandoned their plans due to unfavorable snowpack and instead had a laid back evening camping. The next morning, they saw that the entire face of South Diamond had slid.

Jon Miller’s snowmo-boarding story illustrates how important it is to have a Plan B if avalanche conditions don’t quite line up.

At 5959m, Mt. Logan is Canada’s highest mountain. Vincent’s group had the whole mountain to themselves, when something incredible and unexpected happened.

Austin has skied some of his burliest lines and had some of his longest nights under Longs Peak 14,259-foot summit. And learned some of his greatest lessons.

The day had started so simply, two dudes on two sleds out on an exploratory mission into the Tetons, scouting potential ski lines and routes for summer fun as well.

While boot packing up the Naked Lady Couloir, another party above Ross Minton’s party released an avalanche. The slide caught him and carried him around 400 feet down.

Overall it was pretty obvious to the group that day that Ernst Mueller’s Float avalanche airbag pack saved him from hitting a boulder, serious injury or worse.

Nick demo'ed a Float airbag while heli-boarding in Haines, AK. Caught in an avalanche on Directors North, he was carried over two cliffs—and down 1,000 vertical feet.

The decision to climb was a sketchy one. A 6 foot wall of snow cracked. His Float 8 deployed kept him afloat, as he and his 400+ pound snowmachine slid down the avalanche.

I was completely buried while exiting "Butt Crack" in Summit County, Colorado. We were both using Tracker2s. My partner located me in less than one minute, and excavated me in less than five...

Hunter Schleper receives radio alert to dodge this avalanche. Amazing video - listen and watch what happens.

Rahlves decision to pull his BCA avalanche airbag saves him from falling into a crevasse and getting buried.

"The avalanche spun my sled out from under me, so I pulled my Float trigger." Listen closely to the background dialog as Richard anxiously waits for help.

“First of all in no way shape or form do I think being in an avalanche is cool or something to be proud of. It’s scary and should be avoided at all costs."

I never saw the avalanche coming. Next thing I know, I am buried two meters deep. “This is it,” I thought.

I was able to deploy my Float shortly after the crown of a snow cornice broke. Dramatic to watch.

After an epic morning of powder skiing, we traversed across a small face to access some spines. It was right in the middle of the ski area, but deadly.

This is the kind of "hat trick" we suggest you avoid. Girdwood, AK snowmobiler David Frederikson has deployed his Float airbag three times in avalanches.

I was skiing a west-facing slope near Scotties Bowl in late December when a slab broke off a few feet above me. I immediately deployed my airbag and attempted to self-arrest.

At first I thought the avalanche was too small, but when I could not see the sky anymore, I got scared and pulled the trigger.

Believe it or not, I’ve had to use my Tracker twice. Both times I was skiing with a Heli-skiing company. I picked up the signal before guide, so I ended up doing the search.

I descended an exposed slope in the Pyrenees when a crown broke above me. I was buried five feet deep with no air pocket. I felt like I was dying until I heard voices calling my name.

The avalanche hazard was high and we were just trying to get out of there. Our rescue was fast and efficient. I had the right beacon, probe and shovel, and knew how to use them.

Jesse got stuck High Marking and the whole hill came down on him. He was buried almost five feet deep. If it weren’t for that avalanche beacon, Jesse would be dead.

Practice really paid off. I popped out of my binding and pinpointed my partner to less than a meter with my Tracker2, not even bothering to probe before I started shoveling.

We knew the hazard was high but thought we could ride it out. This was a mistake. Don`t ever assume you can ride out of an avalanche. A minor snow sluff can turn into a real snow slide.

We got them both out alive. The reality is that having multiple signals on the surface is actually more difficult than having multiple victims buried beneath the surface.

I triggered a large avalanche, which pummeled me through rocks and trees and buried me. Thanks to my BCA Tracker avalanche transceiver, I was quickly located.

I was a 16-year-old kid who knew very little about the backcountry. I was buried for eight minutes and I was dug up by friends. The BCA Tracker saved my life.

The snow slide totally took us by surprise. We'd skied this line hundreds of times before and never had had a slide. I didn't panic. I went through the beacon search like a robot.

As a novice 17 year old kid riding in the backcountry for the very first time, I was able to use the Tracker DTS avalanche transceiver with ease and save a life.

After realizing I was certainly dead, I must have passed out. Having a well-trained friend with a BCA Tracker avalanche beacon saved my life that day on Mt. Proctor. It's quite a story.

To save me from my near-death burial in an avalanche at White Pass, WA, my ski partner used his Tracker to find my Tracker as I lay face down and unconscious under 3 1/2 feet of snow.

Backcountry Access Co-Founder Bruce Edgerly introduces #SendandReturn: The BCA Avalanche Safety Podcast. 

In this podcast, BCA pro athlete Colter Hinchliffe talks about the essential avalanche safety equipment every backcountry traveler should bring into the backcountry.

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Lel Tone talks about the essential avalanche safety training all backcountry riders need, and how to keep your skills current.

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Lel Tone talks about how to get and interpret the weather and avalanche forecast, and how to plan your day accordingly.

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Lel Tone and BCA pro athlete Colter Hinchliffe talk about your daily routine and how to look for where the risk areas may lie for the day.

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Lel Tone talks about the essential avalanche and backcountry safety steps to take to limit your group’s exposure to dangerous terrain. 

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Sarah Carpenter goes the through the steps you'll need to perform if your companion gets buried in an avalanche.

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Sarah Carpenter introduces the crucial items you need to know to administer first aid to an avalanche victim.

In this podcast, BCA ambassador Sarah Carpenter describes how to evacuate an injured avalanche victim from the backcountry.