Back in 1978, Blair Timmins was living the Jasper life. 

When he wasn’t carving up the slopes he was tuning skis at Marmot Basin. 

But Timmins, fresh out of the Alberta oil patch, was frustrated with his job. The 24-year-old never had enough time to service customers’ skis properly. Between the time the last skiers dropped off their rentals and when the last staff bus left for town, Timmins could hardly get his work done. 

In that problem, however, Timmins saw an opportunity. He knew there was a demand for high-quality, overnight ski tuning services.

“Jasper skiers either slaved over their own equipment or put up with round edges,” he said.

So began the first incarnation of Edge Control. Tucked into a tiny corner of the Astoria Hotel, next to where customers today pay for their drinks at the De’d Dog, Timmins and his then business partners set up a tiny ski shop. Skiers would drop their gear off from 4 to 6 p.m. and pick it up the next day between 8 and 10 a.m.

“And from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. we’d go skiing,” Timmins laughed.

Those were care-free days. But eventually, Timmins and his business partners decided that simply tuning skis wasn’t going to cut it. They moved the shop to 606 Patricia Street, currently the home of The Bench Bike Shop. They acquired a rental fleet, but the business was still winter-only. 

In the meantime, Paula Beauchamp, Blair’s girlfriend, was working with of the Friends of Jasper’s interpretive guide service. When Parks Canada discontinued that program, Beauchamp went freelance, but not before she saw the brisk retail business that was taking place at the Information Centre. She and Blair sensed another opportunity, but it would mean making Edge Control a year-round venture. 

“It was kind of scary going year-round,” she recalled.

With the help of Bob Baxter, however, it was made a little less intimidating. Baxter got Edge Control into his family’s building on Connaught Drive. From 1993-2005 Edge Control occupied the space where The Spice Joint currently pumps out reggae tunes and jerk chicken.   

“We were starting to get the right product offering by then,” Timmins recalls. “It took us a few years to get a good product mix.”

All the while, Edge Control’s reputation as professional boot fitters was growing. Their regular clientele was broadening and their passion for the area was spreading. Walks and Talks Jasper, Paula’s hiking and interpretive tour business, was also starting to bloom.

“We’ve been lucky to have a strong local following, not just in Jasper but Edmontonians too,” she said.

Their customers followed them when they uprooted again, this time to the 626 Connaught storefront, where they’ve been since 2005. Retail isn’t an easy game to play in Jasper, but for Edge Control, just like the ski tuning technology, which has transformed from belt sanders to $80,000 stone tuners and ceramic disc edgers, Timmins said the business has had to evolve.

“You have to be prepared to tough it out,” he said.

And so begins what feels like the final metamorphosis of Edge Control—a downsizing. After 15 years in their current space, the shop is moving down the street, to 618 Connaught. More importantly, Timmins and Beauchamp are scaling back to a winter-only shop. No more summer “retail jail.”

The move feels like their life in Jasper is coming full circle.

“It’s going to free up some time and give us a chance to do things differently,” Timmins said.

Of course some things will never change. Edge Control might have a new location come February 1, but Timmins and Beauchamp will still be living the same Jasper life. 

“We couldn’t have made it 40 years without the loyalty of our customers,” he said. “We look forward to seeing them at the new location.”.

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com