Two snowmobilers are thanking rescuers after spending a cold Saturday night stranded on Boulder Mountain near Revelstoke, B.C.

"Can't thank the search and rescue guys enough," said Taylor Dumonceaux, who was missing on the mountain with his friend, Andrew MacLeod.

"We didn't have much time left, honestly. We were panicking, it was cold and all our gear was soaked, hands were frozen, couldn't use anything."

The two 24-year-old Kelowna, B.C. natives had rented snowmobiles earlier that day. At around 1 p.m. they realized that one of the sleds was running out of fuel.

"We tried to take a route down. We took a wrong turn," MacLeod said, adding that the snowmobiles began sinking into the snow as they approached a creek.

Unable to dig the vehicles out, the two ran out of daylight and were forced build a shelter in which they spent the night.

Dumonceaux said they set alarms throughout the night, waking up every 15 minutes to check on each other and for any signs of rescuers.

In the morning, they set off down the mountain on foot.

"One sled had no bars of gas left, so we knew we had to figure out a different alternative," Dumonceaux said, adding that the pair began making tracks in the snow with their feet.

On Sunday afternoon, Revelstoke Search and Rescue crews spotted those tracks from a helicopter and quickly sent help.

When MacLeod and Dumonceaux heard the helicopters, they began firing flares they had in their emergency kits.

"They were cold, but otherwise OK," rescuer Gary Vanos told CTV News. “They were together. You could tell they were good buddies and they got through it together—that's the key right there."

Officials shut down Boulder Mountain as rescue crews searched for the snowmobilers with the help of local RCMP officers.

Back in Kelowna, loved ones said they were worried, but felt confident the young men's ability to survive, describing them as "extremely athletic."

"They could probably be up there for two or three days in these conditions," MacLeod's mother, Louise MacLeod, said at the time. "I was really hoping they would find them before dark and praying to God, a lot. I really feel right now that our prayers were answered."

The snowmobilers had a beacon, avalanche backpack, fire-lighting equipment and a flare gun that ultimately contributed to their rescue, but they had no GPS locator or satellite phone.

Dumonceaux said there were "lots of little things that we didn't think about" and urged anyone heading into the backcountry to make sure they're prepared.

"If it's one of your first times, take a guide and always a map with you and a GPS," MacLeod said.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Scott Roberts