A couple who spent the night lost in freezing, stormy weather in the Snowy Mountains have managed to find their way back to Thredbo, nearly 24 hours after departing for a walk.
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The 62-year-old Sydney woman and 65-year-old man survived severe weather, including minus 10-degree temperatures, during their night in the bush.
NSW superintendent Rod Smith said they walked into Thredbo village on Wednesday morning needing nothing more than a "hot shower and a good feed".
"They found a large rock and some trees where they could huddle up together and find shelter," he said. "The conditions couldn't have been much worse really."
The couple are reported to be in a good condition and are spending the day recovering in Thredbo.
The couple left Roslyn Lodge at Thredbo at 10am on Tuesday and were intending to walk up Friday Flat Creek towards Brindle Bull Hill, along the Dead Horse Gap, onto Alpine Way and back into Thredbo, a NSW Police spokeswoman said.
However the woman phoned triple-0 at 2.45pm on Tuesday to say they were lost.
Police had attempted to track the couple's location by mobile phone but were unable to do so, the spokeswoman said, and police had not been able to reach the woman again on her mobile phone.
Superintendent Smith said fortunately the pair had "enough nous and enough resources" to make it through the night.
"They were equipped quite well for a day bushwalking, they had thermal clothing and Goretex gear and sufficient food, but they were not equipped for a night trip and not expecting a night trip," he said.
A search was launched by police on Tuesday afternoon by officers from the Monaro Local Area Command, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services, the SES and Fire and Rescue NSW.
They searched until 2.30am on Wednesday, but were forced to call off the search when weather conditions deteriorated.
Electrical storms and rain halted the search, preventing a helicopter from assisting.
A NSW SES spokeswoman said members of the Queanbeyan branch joined the search early on Wednesday morning along with the specialised alpine search and rescue team.
Weatherzone meteorologist Max Gonzalez said weather conditions on the ranges would make things difficult for the missing couple.
“Since midday on Tuesday the ranges picked up 68 millimetres of rainfall which fell steadily from 6pm,” he said.
“Temperatures reached a peak of 7 degrees in the morning on Tuesday but dropped down once the rain came in the afternoon and fell to freezing overnight.”
Mr Gonzalez said an extreme weather warning was issued for the Thredbo area on Tuesday although the Bureau of Meteorology cancelled the warning around 3am on Wednesday morning.
“West north-westerly winds reaching up to 100km/h were recorded around 6pm on Tuesday evening and this morning winds have been gusting around 90km/h,” he said.
Superintendent Smith urged bushwalkers to notify NSW National Parks and Wildlife of any plans to take a walk in the area. He also recommended tourists take a GPS device and sufficient food and clothing.
"Particularly this time of year when you can walk out on a day where there's blue sky and good weather and it can change so quickly," he said.
It is understood the couple were regular visitors to the members-only Roslyn Lodge at Thredbo.
