The hut, near Lake Onslow, at Millers Flat, was surrounded by metre-deep snow and the three Winton men, one aged in his early 20s and the other two in their 30s, were rescued by helicopter on Saturday afternoon.
''The fact they stayed in the hut saved their lives - if they'd tried to walk out, it would've been a disaster,'' Central Otago search and rescue adviser Adrian (''Snow'') Dance, of Dumbarton, said. Sergeant Derek Ealson, of Alexandra, said the men had gone into the area on Wednesday and were expected home the following day. The search was launched on Saturday after police were contacted by the men's families.
The search involved six people - police and land search volunteers, as well as the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter.
Sgt Ealson said deep snow prevented road access to Lake Onslow and foggy weather cut short the first aerial search.
''After a couple of hours there was a break in the weather, and the helicopter was able to get into Lake Onslow, flying up a gully on the Millers Flat side, and locate the men, who had holed up at a hut on a property there. They were fit and well and hugely relieved to see their rescuers.''
The men had considered trying to walk out of the area, but it was covered in metre-high snow, Sgt Ealson said.
There was no cellphone coverage and they were ''caught out'' by the snowstorm's intensity.
''With the weather that was forecast for when they went into the area, the decision to continue with the trip proved to be unwise and a large amount of resources were involved in locating and subsequently rescuing them from the situation.
''To be fair to them, in hindsight, they know it wasn't the best decision they could've made. However, they did the right thing in sitting tight in the hut.''
Mr Dance echoed his comments and said the area was ''a well-known place for snow''.
It was remote, open and exposed country and the heavy snowfall had covered the men's vehicle. The hut was owned by one of the hunters and snow began to fall soon after the trio arrived there. It was lucky the hut remained visible from the air, Mr Dance said yesterday.
''We were also lucky someone could pinpoint exactly for us where the hut was, or else it would've been like looking for a needle in a haystack.''
The helicopter was able to land on the snow ''in fairly marginal conditions'' to rescue the men, Mr Dance said. Sgt Ealson said the men had taken sufficient supplies for their hunting trip, but after being stranded, were already starting to ration firewood and food.
They had heard the helicopter earlier in the day and made a signal fire outside the hut.
He suggested people heading into remote areas should carry an emergency locator beacon.
