Technology Turns Your Phone into A Rescue Locator

Purgatory Resort hopes a new search and rescue technology will keep skiers and riders on track in 2025. All you need is your phone. You're watching the Local News Network brought to you by M&R plumbing and Crystal Mart. I'm Connor Shrieve. The technology is called Airflare and it has two elements. First, it allows skiers to communicate with their fellow Airflare app users to meet or find members of their group.

But there's also an application that ski areas use and they hook into that entire network of Airflare users. And if you happen to be skiing or snowboarding, and become dislocated or lost or people can't find you, they can use Airflare to find your phone and then send someone out to assist you.

Purgatory was an early adopter of the technology five seasons ago. Airflare's Dave Tragethon says the mountain's search and rescue operations are evolving with the technology.

But they've now integrated it into some of the other systems that they have. So they have a system where all of their patrollers who have radios are GPS mapped so at any one time they can look at their map and see where every single one of their patrollers are. Then when someone calls in for a call for help through Airflare, they're located there and it makes it easier to dispatch the right patrollers.

He says the technology helps cut down on after hour and sometimes out of bounds searches.

Somebody's at the parking lot, person they came up with isn't there, they can't find them, and that usually results then into an after hours search, late into the evening, sometimes overnight. And the same patrollers who have been working up there all day for the last 10, 12 hours are now on a mission overnight looking for someone that may be missing.

A missing Airflare user usually can be found within a minute, often eliminating the need for a search at all. Patrol can either direct the user to safety or dispatch help. The app costs $5 per year, but you don't need to be a subscriber to take advantage of the emergency location services. Just having the app allows dispatch to text a link that gives patrollers your location.

Purgatory has done an excellent job of integrating Airflare into their overall patrol operation. All their patrollers have a field council on their phones so when someone comes in and says, "I need help," Purgatory dispatch can send that to the patroller that they send to respond. The patroller then has you mapped on their phone, so it's a lot easier for them to find you.

Skiers and riders at Purgatory can try the app for free for six months, season pass holders get a free year, anyone working in the ski industry can use the app free of charge for life. Find out more information about this and other stories at durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Network, I'm Connor Shrieve.