Vail Ski Patrol cuts response times and improves safety with CalTopo Teams

During a winter cold snap at Vail Mountain Resort, security alerted off-duty patrollers to three individuals stranded outside the ski area boundary near Mill Creek after the resort closed. The group had been out since morning with minimal supplies. As darkness fell and temperatures dropped, rescue from unfamiliar terrain became urgent.

In the past, this meant juggling text messages, phone calls, and radio chatter just to get everyone on the same page, making it all too easy for situational awareness to slip through the cracks. With CalTopo Teams, they pinpointed the lost party’s location in minutes by simply sending a text message. The group’s live location appeared on CalTopo for everyone to see, helping dispatch and patrol efficiently plan the access route as they ventured out on snowmobiles and backcountry skis. As the rescue unfolded, leaders at Vail Mountain Resort, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, and Vail Mountain Rescue “watched the whole Mill Creek rescue in real-time” on CalTopo from their own locations, watching as the guests and patrol returned safely.

Rescues like Mill Creek aren’t the outliers. They are part of daily life for ski patrol at Vail Mountain Resort. Jenn Pirog, ski patrol supervisor on the team for 19 years, says her team of 120 patrollers handles 20-50 incidents a day. “CalTopo’s SMS locator has become a standard for dispatchers when we’re unsure of the exact location of a guest. SMS Locators are the bread and butter. We send one any time we’re not sure where someone is.”

Patrollers use CalTopo Teams on 25 – 40% of daily calls, dramatically reducing response times and eliminating radio confusion. The platform’s real-time tracking is essential for complex terrain. Jenn explains, “In areas like Yonder Trees, verbal directions can be tricky. It takes a lot of unnecessary chatter to explain where to go on the radio.”

“With live tracking, dispatch can watch the patroller moving in real-time and guide them right to the patient.”

While CalTopo shines in emergency response, the Vail patrollers have woven CalTopo Teams into daily logistics, including onboarding, summer trail work, and maintenance. The platform serves as a digital, mobile repository for institutional knowledge, mapping area nicknames, emergency phone locations, and known avalanche paths. “We had experienced team members track their normal sweeps, creating digital guides for building checks and wave-offs,” Pirog says. “Now, new hires open CalTopo on their phone instead of flipping through a paper sweep book.”

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Vail Ski Patrol’s success shows how shared information, live tracking, and organized knowledge quickly reduce response times and boost safety. CalTopo Teams streamlines operations, minimizes communication issues, and keeps everyone coordinated for faster responses and safer outcomes.

 

​Take the next step towards faster, safer rescues: visit caltopo.com/teams and discover how CalTopo Teams can streamline your operations and empower your patrol.