Didn't get that iPod, Zune, or other portable music player you had written down on your holiday wish list? Perhaps you need to work on your pitch. When making your plea to your parents, significant other, or whoever it is you're hoping will buy you an MP3 player next year, be sure to let them know it could be a matter of life and death. Let us explain.

Things were looking pretty grim for a skier and a snowboarder, both from France, who managed to get lost late Friday near the resort of Savognin in southeast Switzerland. Being lost in the cold and and snowy Swiss mountains is reason enough for panic, and though the two were able to call for help on a cell phone, the battery died soon after, leaving the two tourists in a chilly predicament. Lucky for them, their MP3 player gave their location away.

"The two winter sports enthusiasts were found by the crew of the Rega helicopter shortly after midnight -- thanks to the faint light of their MP3 player," said Gery Baumann, spokesman for mountain rescue service Rega.

Reuters reports the two men escaped with only mild hypothermia.

 Image Credit: Flickr blacklord