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.