I'm your guy for Reno, Paully. I've lived here for 47 of my 49 years, though I've only been doing the fig thing for about 10 and really only became one of the certified fig crazies in the past two or three years. I am in the process of collecting the figs that are suggested to be among the most hardy varieties, though they still have to at least taste really good, if not otherworldly. Most of my hardiest varieties are in pots and are too young yet to plant out. I just received a Florea cutting, so I'm years away from testing it's hardiness. I've had Celeste and Italian Honey in ground for five years and VdB for beginning now in it's third. I-Honey has performed the best, though I lose 75% of its growth each winter. I ripped out Celeste this spring for poor performance. It dies back to the ground each year and despite growing up to 5' in a season if I don't pinch, it doesn't give me more than a handful of ripe figs in a season. VdB hasn't been in long enough to properly assess, but it died back completely in it's first winter and died back 80% last winter and hasn't put on a lot of growth during the growing season, though the latter may be more of a me issue than a tree issue.
The biggest impediment to growing in ground are the cold, drying winds we get here through the winter. I apply Wiltpruf, an anti-dessicant, in the fall, but that along with protection that includes a cage, burlap wrap plus roofing paper, lots of leaves and a 3 gallon top hat hasn't protected them all that well. We also have unpredictable spring weather and frequently get frosts in late May and even Early June, so uncovering the trees before the 1st of June can cause real problems even when most of the above ground growth survives winter, as it did three years ago when I uncovered them in early May and watched them push out leaves, only to get hit with frost in late May that ended up killing almost all the above ground growth along with the new leaves. We haven't had lows colder than about -5 degrees F for many years, and generally only see a few days in the single digits through the winter. There are likely varieties that will handle our winters and springs with some additional care, but I'll need a few more years to figure that out, except...
I just found a local fig bush that has produced annually with minimal dieback for 60+ years. Outdoor figs in this area are exceedingly rare - this is only the second I am aware of though there are doubtless a few more sprinkled around the area. It's planted in a protected spot against a south wall, but has also survived several attempts by the current owner to dig it out. He is the grandson of the man who planted the tree and he doesn't like fresh figs all that much. He can't kill it though. The story is that it's from Italy (granpa and grandma were Italian immigrants). I dug out a rooted sucker two days ago and am attempting to root some green cuttings. I'll return to the fig in a couple of months to pick figs and take some pics of the bush and will ultimately harvest a nice quantity of dormant wood. Attached is a photo of a leaf, which reminds me somewhat of VdB, though the fruit he described is brown rather than purple and there is not red at the growing tips as there is with VdB, so I think we can safely rule it out. He described the flesh as very dark red and the taste as very sweet. Not much to go by there, but I don't expect flavor nuances from somebody who doesn't eat many or even like fresh figs.
As Bob already suggested, your friends may be better served by growing in pots for a time. If they want to jump into in-ground growing, it should be with a tree that has some years on it, not a youngling. They are welcome to contact me if they want whatever advice I can give them. PM me and I'll give you my contact info.