Three hikers found

[Overlandman]

Three Canberra hikers found after spending freezing night in NSW Snowy Mountains

Three hikers who went missing in the northern part of Kosciusko National Park on Monday night have been found, with police saying they are lucky to be alive.

A specialised alpine police unit helped locate the three men from Canberra, who became lost after setting out on Saturday in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains.

Temperatures in the area dropped to minus seven degrees Celsius overnight.

Fortunately the men contacted triple-0 on Monday afternoon and police found them huddling under rocks near Mount Morgan on Monday night suffering from severe exhaustion.

Monaro Region LAC Acting Inspector Ben Bowles said they were lucky to be alive after setting out without any equipment and wearing only light clothing.

"They were extremely lucky considering the equipment they had with them, the clothing they were wearing and the conditions that were reached over the weekend in that area," he said.

"It is quite perplexing to me why people would put themselves at risk by setting off on these journeys being completely unprepared with insufficient clothing and food and water, first aid kits and even hiking equipment, GPS and personal locater beacons, even a map and a compass.

"They do put themselves at risk and also the rescuers who have to set out and try and find these people.

"These people were extremely lucky to be located with no injuries."

Acting Inspector Bowles warned hikers to be prepared before they considered walking in the high country over winter.

"Of major importance is that they inform someone of their exact intended route or itinerary, GPS coordinates and expected time they'll be returning, where they're setting off from," he said.

"As much information as they can provide in regards to where they're going to be and how long they're going to be there and please have sufficient equipment to prepare yourselves for these sorts of journeys."

National Parks and Wildlife Service regional manager for the southern ranges Mick Pettitt said it was a successful search and rescue mission.

"People were lost [and] had no real idea of where they were going,'' he said.

''They didn't tell people where they were going, so it still occurs.

''They were found at 1:30am, so that all ended up well."

[north-north-west]

Morgan at this time of the year. Not fun without appropriate gear. Wonder how badly offline they were.