Yeah in that case, you’d probably be better off just picking up some decent GMRS handhelds. Spend a little more on some antenna upgrades, and you should have no issues. If you really want to stay on the right side of the law, you can have everyone in your group (who isn’t related to you) throw $35 at the FCC for some GMRS licenses. But, depending on terrain, you should be able to stay in reasonable contact with everyone with 5W if you’re within a mile or two.

I'm pretty sure you can find the same radio hardware platform but FCC certified for GMRS (or so the label says anyway). Maybe they added filtering to get it to pass? That means a $35 GMRS radio with USB-C charging, swappable antennas, and higher transmit power.

He's already seen Meshtastic, which is something I definitely want to play with for his exact use-case: coordinating with friends while skiing.

The BC Link is a commonly used GMRS radio for backcountry enthusiasts.

https://backcountryaccess.com/en-us/c/bc-link-radios/

Any decently made GMRS radio should be fine for coordinating around the ski resort. I've had mixed results with FRS as the range is quite poor. This is amplified by the fact that the other party could be on a different face of the mountain as well as covered by trees. It's also convenient that many GMRS and FRS frequencies overlap, so if someone in your party only has an FRS radio or doesn't have a license, they can still communicate with GMRS users, assuming they're within range.

As another commenter pointed out a satellite communicator would be preferable in an emergency situation, as FRS/GMRS cannot be relied on to request emergency or rescue services. I keep a Garmin inReach Mini for this purpose.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/765374