Ski resort visitors don’t always study the trails they plan to hit in their pursuit of fresh powder. That can lead to skiers getting lost or having trouble identifying their location for patrollers if they run into trouble.
With over 1,600 acres of skiable terrain, 107 trails and 11 lifts, the case is no different at Purgatory Resort. But Purgatory is using a new mobile app and location system that turns one’s mobile device into a rescue beacon, making locating a skier fast and easy and reducing response times to skiers in distress.
The location system is called AirFlare and it can locate a skier within 10 to 30 meters of their phone or mobile device. Mobile phone owners can download the AirFlare app onto their devices, but that isn’t required to use the location system in an emergency. All that is needed is a cellphone and a minimal signal, said Dave Tragethon, a representative for AirFlare.
AirFlare made headlines in October 2023 when it was credited with helping responders save the life of a skier who got lost in the fog at Soldier Mountain in Southern Idaho.
The skier called the resort’s front office and ski patrol were able to find her with the app, which she was able to download and use on the mountain. Patrollers were able to pinpoint her location and come to her aid. The rescue mission took nearly two hours of navigating through 2 feet high fresh, wet snow, according to a news release from AirFlare.
Purgatory Resort Ski Patrol Director Blayne Woods said patrollers can activate the location system with a text message that issues a one-time request to the recipient to share their whereabouts. Once approved, patrollers can dial in on the recipient’s location. Mobile app users don’t have to manually approve their location – helpful if one is in a situation where he or she can’t reach their phone.
“The best use that we found is for the people who don’t know where they’re at and will tell us details like, ‘I’m on a blue run and I see some trees and I see a headwall and a trail sign,’” he said. “... We’re going to send you a quick text, just agree to share your location, and once we get a ping, then we can send a patroller directly to them.”
The time between the initial text message and identifying one’s location spans 30 to 60 seconds, Woods and Tragethon said.
AirFlare doesn’t cache data and doesn’t continuously track a user’s location, Woods said. But the one-time location share is accurate even in tree zones where signals can be spotty. Identifying a location can take a little longer in a low signal zone, but even then, the results are accurate.
Tragethon said the benefit of using the mobile app, which is subscription based at $4.99 annually, is that locations are more precise.
“(You) may or may not know what trail you’re on, what lift that is, exactly where you are on the mountain, especially if you get a little bit disoriented or lost coming off of one ridgeline or another,” he said. “That’s the real benefit of the technology.”
He said the app also works peer-to-peer, meaning two skiers can share their locations with each other; it’s like a pocket buddy system.
“When I go up and ski and my wife’s not with me, I have my location. She can locate me if she hasn’t heard from me or can’t reach me,” he said.
Laughing, he added he’s even used AirFlare as a “find my phone” tool after misplacing his cellphone.
“It’s a helpful device, even if you’re not stranded out in the middle of the woods,” he said.
Purgatory ski patrol started using AirFlare in 2023, but the location system received more use this year. Now, patrollers are trying to spread the word so skiers are prepared when they go up the mountain, Woods said.
Tragethon, who is based in Portland, Oregon, was at Purgatory last weekend to promote AirFlare and tell guests about its utility on the mountain and to train ski patrol and guests on its use. The training and promotions came just ahead of the National Ski Areas Association’s National Safety Month in January.
Woods said about 60% of reports to Purgatory ski patrol come from lift operators or people skiing down the mountain who passed someone in distress. Patrollers will record the report, but then it’s up to them to find the person in need of help. AirFlare removes a lot of the guesswork involved in tracking someone down.
If someone is subscribed to the AirFlare mobile app and cannot reach their phone because they’re caught in a tree well or are immersed under snow, the app will automatically share their location after ski patrol attempts to reach them for their location, he said.
Tragethon said AirFlare cofounders Denis Lee and Eliot Gillum are mountaineers and search and rescuers. They teamed up on a mission to help locate a friend of Lee, and afterward, they felt there has to be a better way to find people in need of rescue.
“Mishaps can happen to anyone at any time – sometimes it’s weather, lack of preparedness, or just bad luck,” Gillum said in a news release. “But AirFlare is serious protection that everyone can have on them all the time. Research shows more than 90 percent of people bring their phone with them on outdoor activities.”
Ski areas are turning AirFlare into their primary response mechanism to find guests who are injured or lost in a fog or a blizzard, Tragethon said.
“Rather than having to mount a huge search as the weather is worsening and it’s getting darker and we’re about to face freezing temperatures overnight, they know exactly where the guest is and can either direct the guest back to the trails … or send one or two people out directly to assist the guest,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
