Taylor Dumonceaux and Andrew MacLeod know theysa国际传媒檙e lucky to be alive.

The two 24-year-olds from Kelowna went missing on Boulder Mountain, a popular snowmobile area near Revelstoke, Jan. 6, and werensa国际传媒檛 located until just after 1 p.m on Jan. 7 by Revelstoke Search and Rescue.

sa国际传媒淗ard to put into words how thankful we are to be home,sa国际传媒� Dumonceaux said in a recent post. sa国际传媒淢ost of all we want to thank the Revelstoke Search and Rescue and all the volunteers within the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club for the amazing job they did searching for us all night and all day. Life can change in a matter of hours, lucky for us things turned out for the best.sa国际传媒�

MacLeod seconded that.

sa国际传媒淭he people that rescued us are an amazing group. These people didnsa国际传媒檛 even know us and put their (lives) on the line for complete strangers. I feel so relieved and grateful that I can see my family today,sa国际传媒� he said.

Related: West Kelowna man dies while snowmobiling

Dumonceaux and MacLeod had spent the night on the mountain and RCMP said they were both cold, though in good overall health.

Revelstoke Search and Rescue spent five hours looking for the pair Saturday and another five hours Sunday. According to a family member, the men had rented one Polaris 150 pro and one Ski-Doo 850 and with limited sledding experience, a rented flare kit and avalanche pack they went into the back country. RCMP do not think the men had food, water, or overnight equipment.

According to Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR), the incident puts the spotlight on the need to be well-prepared in the backcountry. COSAR search manager Dave Crawford said one of the most important things to do when heading out is to have a trip plan where you tell someone where you are going and when you are expected back.

sa国际传媒淭hen, if you do find yourself in a situation, you donsa国际传媒檛 need to do anything. You can sit tight and be confident the alarm will be raised and search and rescue will come for you,sa国际传媒� said Crawford, who also noted that you should not move once you are lost. sa国际传媒淎 lot of times people get into trouble because they get lost and they decide they have to keep moving to find their way out. But that can make it worse because you are making yourself more lost, yousa国际传媒檙e losing valuable energy.sa国际传媒�

Crawford said a website has been developed by B.C. search and rescue groups (adventuresmart.ca) that lists the 10 essentials for backcountry travel and he urged residents to study the site before heading out.

He said current conditions in the backcountry are deteriorating, with avalanche hazards increasing due to the weather.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 very scary right now,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淪nowpacks donsa国际传媒檛 like change and wesa国际传媒檝e seen a lot of change in the past few weeks. Wesa国际传媒檝e seen a cooling trend followed by snowfall and then followed by warming trends.sa国际传媒�

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