Two skiers missing off a Mackenzie Country skifield have been found safe and well after spending a night in the open.
The pair, a 27-year-old local woman and a 27-year-old man from the North Island, were found by an alpine cliff rescue team about 8.30am on Tuesday after they failed to return to the Ohau Snow Field late on Monday afternoon.
They had "bunkered down" in the bush after the weather clagged in and they became disorientated on Monday, Constable Joe Rush of Twizel police told NZ Newswire.
The night was not too cold and they were recovering with breakfast at the skifield's lodge, he said.
A helicopter with night vision goggles and ground crews searched the area but could find nothing before poor weather forced the search to be called off on Monday night.
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