BLBCA - A Brief History

An Association of Problem Solvers

The people who own and run the BLBCA's member lodges are, by necessity, tinkerers. Deep in the backcountry, playing by Mother Nature's rules, with infinite variables at play, they are adept at coming up with creative solutions.

As with many organizations, clubs, associations, the BLBCA was created due to a crisis. Following a challenging avalanche season, the winter of 2003, many insurance underwriters decided that providing commercial general liability insurance to winter-based adventure tourism operators might be a bit too risky.

Due to some creative and diligent lobbying by a few people, underwriters decided that they could provide backcountry lodges that were members in good standing with the newly-formed BLBCA, if the new association setup appropriate standard operating procedures. for all members.

Getting the BLBCA to it's current position has been an interesting journey, I encourage you to read more by visiting our latest blog post.

Take good care.

Brad Harrison
Executive Director, BLBCA
ed@blbca.com

Great news. BC Search and Rescue received zero, yep, zero calls over the May long weekend on 11 BC trails that typically receive the most search and rescue calls. What a relief for SAR volunteers and backcountry users!

BC SARA earlier released a series of videos highlighting the 11 trails mentioned above. The media, other adventure tourism operators, associations and the general public provided solid support in circulating the videos. The HikeSmart campaign certainly seems to be a huge success, helping backcountry users to travel BC's inimitiable backcountry more safely.

Many thanks to BC Search & Rescue members for their dedication. And a shout-out to the folks at AdventureSmart BC for their tireless efforts.

Other things to do in BC's backcountry 

Non-traditional activities

Not too long ago summer activities at BLBCA member lodges were limited to a fairly small number of options. One could go hiking, mountaineering or climbing, which were all wonderful and rewarding activities.

Fast forward to this summer and the options have really blossomed. A visitor can still engage in the "traditional" activities. But you can also try alpine-based mountain biking, SUPing, trail running, orienteering, birding, yoga retreats, flora and fauna photography or painting ventures. Team building retreats, particularly in shoulder seasons are increasing in popularity.

Be sure to check out the vast array of activities now available at BLBCA member lodges. 

Stay connected, follow the BLBCA on Twitter @bcbackcountry 

Use the BLBCA's Find a Lodge tool

Trouble finding exactly the right lodge for your trip? Trouble finding availability?

Use the BLBCA's Find a Lodge tool to save some aggravation and time.The tool allows you to filter out potential BLBCA member destinations by using very specific criteria, i.e., summer-only operations, amenities, room configuration, catered/self-catered, guided/self-guided, etc. Once you have reduced the list to the potential operations that you are interested in, you can view their specific offering on the BLBCA website. 

Share your backcountry adventures, tag photos with:
#myBCbackcountry | #exploreBC