I'm not second guessing the people who got lost, but I will say that if I'm going out of bounds skiing I have a compass, headlamp, food, water, leatherman etc. I think there is often a problem with people who are hiking for tracks from a lift who think of it as in bounds skiing away from people, rather than as a potential backcountry survival trip.
Amazingly, he kept in constant touch with the rescuers using his cell phone--the coordinates he kept giving them kept them far away from his actual location.
Well, they were very short calls.
EMS: Marco!
LOST GUY: Polo!
Etc., repeated frequently.