Steve Christie Named North American Sales Manager for Backcountry Access and K2 BackSide Collection

SEATTLE - Jan. 16, 2014 - PRLog -- In a move that combines sales forces for two of the largest U.S.-based backcountry product manufacturers, longtime Backcountry Access (BCA) (http://www.backcountryaccess.com) Sales Director, Steve Christie, has been appointed North American Sales Manager for BCA and K2 (http://k2skis.com) BackSide. In his new role, Christie will direct a combined backcountry-based specialty sales team while reporting to both BCA and K2 from the K2 Sports’ office in Seattle.

The joining of these two brands allows Christie’s team to offer dealers brand, price point, product and feature selection with one stop shopping.

“Our new sales force is one-of-a-kind in the industry,” said BCA co-founder, Bruce Edgerly. “By combining K2’s experienced sales force with the technical know-how of BCA’s seasoned tech reps, we now have the best representation on the ground in North America to sell and service the most comprehensive lineup of backcountry products in the business.”

Christie will be responsible for managing the sales efforts of five newly hired K2 rep groups along with six professional backcountry specialists that include guides, avalanche forecasters and educators. The regionally based teams will be lead by Steve Marks in the Pacific Northwest, Marc Lee in Colorado, Richard Kuipers in the Intermountain West, Mike Rosen in California and John Whitcomb in New England. Also critical to these efforts are Andy Wenberg, Sander Wijad and Dane Olson, three BCA veterans who will be responsible for several different sales channels.

“This is an exciting combination of brands,” said Steve Christie, North American sales manager, BCA and K2 Backside. “BCA and K2 Backside recognize our responsibility to continue to educate people about backcountry safety and stay dedicated to a knowledge-based approach for our customers. Knowledge leadership will be a key component to the success of these brands for both selling product and continuing to save lives."

About BCA
Backcountry Access, Inc. (BCA) is a leading manufacturer of snow safety equipment, including Tracker avalanche transceivers, Float airbags, shovels, probes, Stash packs and snow study tools. We believe knowledge is just as important as the gear we sell, which is why we support all of our products with education and customer service. For more info on BCA’s line of snow safety equipment, please visit http://www.backcountryaccess.com.

About K2 Sports
K2 Sports, based in Seattle, Wash., has achieved unparalleled success through innovative product offerings, marketing programs and multiple brand acquisitions. The company operates 14 brands and is globally renowned for its non-traditional advertising, graphics and high performance products throughout its portfolio. With wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, Central Europe, Japan, Korea and Scandinavia and distribution in more than 60 countries, K2 Sports continues to assert its position as a global leader across multiple categories of sporting goods. For more information, visitk2sports.com (http://www.k2sports.com). K2 Sports is a part of Jarden Corporation (http://www.jarden.com) (NYSE- JAH (http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/jah.html))