Save me is the first ski pass with a built-in positioning chip. With this every skier in the ski resort Sölden is automatically locatable. After an avalanche a radio signal is immediately being sent out. The reflector in the pass returns it. And the mountain rescue can then pinpoint the victim’s exact location. The good thing about Save Me: The reflector is passive, meaning it doesn’t need batteries, so it’s always "on".

Save me is a two-part technology:

1. A detector carried by the mountain rescue, which sends out a search signal.

2. The ski pass, which throws back a directional signal that leads the rescuer to the avalanche victim. The pass consists of an RFID data storage medium for hands-free access to the slopes on the one hand. And of the reflector: a diode fixed to a copper antenna. Both components (RFID + reflector) are molded into the pass.

The reflector in the pass is passive, meaning it doesn’t need batteries. The whole ski pass weighs less than 10 grams and has a maximum reach of 200 meters.

From December 2015 on the pass was sold at the Sölden ski resort. This made every skier automatically locatable under an avalanche. And Sölden not only one of the best but also safest ski resorts.

We took a regular ski pass made out of plastic and molded a reflector consisting of a diode fixed to a copper antenna into it. What was the most important to us was that the pass was always “on” and lightweight.

Since the implementation of Save Me in December 2015, Sölden had the lowest avalanche-related fatality rate in 10 years. After overwhelmingly good feedback, Save Me will be continued in 2016/17 and 4 other ski resorts want to adopt the technology.

Off-piste skiing and snowboarding are more popular than ever. But also dangerous. Every year more than 5.000 people worldwide are buried by avalanches. During the search for the victims every second counts. Unfortunately, most people buried don’t wear any avalanche emergency equipment. Because it’s expensive and the danger is often underestimated. This makes it extremely hard for the mountain rescue to find and recover them in time.