Cameron,

I'm glad your group member turned up ok.

I have no experience in hiking in your neck of the woods (summer or winter) so I have nothing to offer of value to your situation other than a question:

Would this individual have benefited from having a quad map of the area and maybe a small gps unit?

I don't head into an area (familiar or not) without at least one quad map of the area. In the past, I've gotten the quads ajoining my target area just in case I wandered off the map.

Maybe an offering of orienteering skills inservice taught by a local Boy Scout (working on a community service merit badge) might be of some interest to some folks in your group. I know I desperately need to brush up on some skills.