And rescuers said that had it not been for the availability of a mobile phone to raise the alarm there could have been a far more serious outcome.

In a race against descending cloud and fading light the helicopter crew spotted the men on a ledge at Oronga Canyon, part of the Grose Valley in the Mt Banks area.

All three, already suffering hypothermia, were winched out by CareFlight after a frantic text message to a friend alerted authorities.

The helicopter had to fly up mountain valleys to reach the location at 7 pm as cloud settled below the ridge tops while police and ambulance rescue teams from the Blue Mountains and Lithgow gathered at Mt Banks.

NRMA CareFlight air crewman Graeme Fromberg and pilot Jeff Konemann winched SCAT paramedics Wayne Cannon and Warren Bostock onto the two-metre wide ledge to where the men were stuck.

The full details plus more weekend incidences on page 2 of Tuesday November 23.