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Six hikers have described how they survived two terrifying nights battling neck-high snowdrifts and avalanches while they were trapped on Mt Cook.
The Australians - four men and two women from Sydney - were airlifted to safety about 9.30am yesterday after the search team took advantage of a
short break in the weather.
All six walked unaided from the rescue helicopter after landing at Mt Cook village about 9.50am before getting the all-clear from medical staff.
Wrapped in blankets and holding hot drinks, they recounted their ordeal to waiting media.
Group leader Terry Cole, a 37-year-old forklift driver, described how they had been stuck on a ridge on the Mueller Glacier as avalanches thundered past 50m to either side.
Despite being partly protected by an overhang, their two tents were repeatedly filled with snow and they barely slept during the ordeal.
"It was pretty scary," said Cole. "A big slab of snow fell down beside me."
His partner, school counsellor Jennie Landon, also 37, was visibly upset as she described her fear.
"I heard a lot of avalanches around us. I thought, 'I'm too young to die'."
Cole said one team member passed out as they struggled through snow up to their necks carrying 30kg packs. "We tried to stick together as a group. I tried to lead the team out but it was nearly impossible.
"The thing that saved us was we were prepared and we had the right equipment. There was an enormous amount of snow. It was burying and suffocating us."
The group had been in the mountains since last Saturday. Their emergency locator beacon had been broadcasting since Thursday night but there was no other sign of them.
Vicious storms bringing heavy snowfalls had swept through Mt Cook National Park. Visibility was too poor for aircraft to detect any sign of life.
Some reports stated the six were feared dead.
A window in the weather on Saturday morning allowed a helicopter to take off just after dawn but it was forced to abandon the search.
The search team's media liaison officer Senior Constable Greg Sutherland said that the conditions were the most dangerous he had seen for a long time.
With the weather closing in, another helicopter took off after 9am. Then, half an hour later, Sutherland broke the news that the group had been found.
Melissa Clerke, who celebrated her 27th birthday in the snow-filled tent on Friday night, said seeing the helicopter was a massive relief. The team was down to emergency rations, cups of soup and chocolate powder.
"I jumped in the chopper and I could feel the tears starting and when we hit the ground. That's when the tears really started to flow."
Acupuncturist David Freeland, 55, said it was a test of endurance. "At every point where there was danger, like when we were climbing through loose snow and trying to make it to the hut, my limits were tested."
Stephen Dolphin, 53, said even though the safety of Mueller Hut was just 450m away, it was impossible to reach. "When you start going down to your neck in snow, you know that you can't go any further."
Interior designer Gerald Osman, 32, admitted he was scared. "When we knew we couldn't get through to the hut and had to activate the beacon I knew that we were in trouble."
Despite earlier reports, Sutherland said the team appeared to have been pretty well-prepared, although only two members had mountaineering experience.
"They decided to hunker down and keep each other warm. They did the right thing."