Yong Chun Kim, 66, of Tacoma, told KOMO-TV of Seattle that he had fire starters with him and first burned some leaves. Then he started burning personal items: his socks and then $1 and $5 bills from his wallet.
Kim also said he kept moving to keep warm, took cover under a tree at night and dreamed of his wife and a nice hot sauna.
He became separated from his snowshoe group on Saturday (local time) and wasn't rescued until Monday. Kim was in such good shape that when he was found, he did not have to go to a hospital and, instead, went home with his family.
Searchers traversed deep snow and snowshoed up a river valley to pull him from the icy remote back country. The team reached Kim on Monday afternoon but it took nine hours to bring him from the rugged terrain covered in deep snow to a road, spokeswoman Lee Taylor said.
"The rangers, they're good people," Kim told KOMO. "I love them."
Taylor told the News Tribune newspaper of Tacoma, Washington, that Kim, an experienced hiker, was alert, conscious and stable when he was found by the team of three searchers.
He was reported missing on Saturday after he fell down a slope and became separated from a group he was leading in the Paradise area, a popular high-elevation destination on the mountain's southwest flank, about 160km south of Seattle.
Snowshoers use specialized footgear that allows them to spread their weight over a larger area, which keeps them from sinking into deep snow and makes it possible to hike into snowy areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. Kim, who has been snowshoeing for a decade, was well-equipped for a day trip but didn't have overnight gear.
Because Kim was the leader of his group, other snowshoers weren't able to accurately describe where he had slipped, Taylor said. Searchers had initially believed Kim fell in a different area, based on descriptions from the group, Taylor said.
Taylor said he was in a remote area with deep snow. Mount Rainier has seen temperatures around -9degC, and 20cm of new snow fell in some places since Saturday. Wind-blown snow drifts were as high as 76cm in some areas.
Bad weather prevented a helicopter rescue, so crews used a Sno-Cat snow vehicle to reach the area where Kim was.
Kim's son, Malcom An, thanked authorities and the rescuers in a statement released through the National Park Service.
"A terrible situation that could have ended in tragedy, instead turned into another beautiful example of how Americans come together to help each other," he said.
Kim's sister-in-law, Sang Soon Tomyn, told The Associated Press that "as soon as we heard he was alive, my sister, his wife, praised God and said 'Hallelujah.' "We were so worried. We prayed every day."
She said her brother-in-law was a strong hiker, had food in his backpack and knew the area very well.
"He's a very strong person," she said.
