The alarm was raised about 4pm.
Heliworks Queenstown general manager Richard Mills said Heliworks and Southern Lake Helicopters crews winched the two men from the gully at 10.10pm.
The weather had cleared for the rescue, he said.
''It was pitch black up there, so it was a night-vision job. Another couple of lives saved by night vision.''
Sergeant Kate Pirovano, of Queenstown, said the two ''happy and grateful'' brothers, aged 23 and 21, were ''ill-equipped'' to spend the night in the gully.
The snowboarders had gone off-piste, become stuck in the gully and called the Remarkables skifield on a cellphone. The skifield contacted police about 4pm.
The men were not far from the skifield and could see Queenstown, she said.
A helicopter crew had attempted to airlift the snowboarders but weather conditions prevented the rescue, she said.
''There is a lesson to be learned. Stay on the trail.''
The driver of a vehicle which plunged between 150m and 200m off the Remarkables skifield access road yesterday afternoon escaped with only whiplash.
Sergeant Kate Pirovano said the 38-year-old Queenstown driver was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
A St John spokesman said the man was taken to Lakes District Hospital by ambulance with chest injuries after the 3.30pm crash. No further information was available last night.
