Searching for a Lost Phone at Stratton with a Metal Detector

After losing his phone while skiing at Stratton, Chris Wong returned with his friend Lane and a metal detector. Their filmed search gives an everyday pocket mishap the structure of a small winter treasure hunt.

Start with resort staff and lost property

A working ski slope is not an unrestricted search area. Contact resort staff and lost property first; access arrangements and mountain operations matter more than what an older clip appears to permit. Do not assume a detector can be used anywhere that snow remains.

Keep the phone secure before the next run

Close jacket and trouser pockets before starting a run, and keep essential items in a secure internal compartment when possible. If something is lost, note the run and approximate location promptly. That information can be useful to staff even when snow makes an immediate search impractical.

Explore more: music and attention on the slopes; what a resort snow-depth report measures.

Video: Ski Slope iPhone Found with Metal Detector & GoPro (published by Chris Wong).

From a mogul-run fall to a second search

Wong's account began with a fall on a mogul run and a jacket pocket that had not been fully zipped. An initial return search proved too difficult by hand. After replacing the phone, he looked into inexpensive metal detectors and went back the following weekend with Lane, recording the attempt on a GoPro. That sequence of frustration, research and another try gives the film its small-scale adventure.

The linked upload's title identifies the outcome as an iPhone found with a metal detector. The satisfaction comes from a particular owner recovering a particular object, rather than discovering a public treasure field. The camera and detector also play different roles: one documents the search while the other helps narrow it. Snow can conceal an item astonishingly well, but its eventual exposure does not change its ownership. Report found property to the resort and let staff guide any search around active slopes or operations.