Ski Patrol Phone Number

At Alpental, the best course of action would be to dial 911 if you have a cell phone, otherwise scream like hell and hope someone finds you.

Or you could use this....

...Now, I’m envisioning being stuck up to my neck in the snow…just able to reach my cell phone …calling  911 on my speed dial and…”Mam…I’m sorry I can’t help you if you can’t give me an address.”...

Sorry to hear that you got poorly trained operator. But you did make contact, and by voice. For your non-ski-area example, some of the non-emergency numbers may just get you an after hours voice mail system if it does not happen to be M-F work hours and not lunchtime or another call in progress. If you are in a remote area you may not actually be able to make voice contact. But at least with 911, if you can get an answer even with a weak signal you might get a text message through when voice does not work, and even if that is not working, the 911 responders can initiate a GPS search for your phone's location if they have reason to believe that you are in need of locating. Worked for me once when my wife had called me in overdue. If it is an emergency requiring SAR or EMS or police, 911 is the first number to dial.

Near a ski area, I'd try the patrol first, then 911. In the I-90 corridor, dispatching SAR or patrol to the backcountry can take 12 - 105 minutes.