Four women caught out by darkness high on the Remarkables on Sunday night were rescued after using their cellphone torches to signal to a searching helicopter.
The women had become separated into two groups and unable to communicate with each other while on the Queen's Drive walking route on the mountain range's western face.
A police media adviser said one of the women called 111 about 9pm, telling police she and her companion had become separated from two other members of their party.
Lakes District Air Rescue Trust (LDART) manager Ed Halson said the women followed police instructions to switch on their cellphones' torches when they saw or heard LDART's helicopter.
The helicopter dropped three members of Queenstown's Alpine and Cliff Rescue team near the two groups, who escorted the women to a pickup spot.
Two of the party were still on the Queen's Drive route, below the face of Double Cone, while the other two were about 1.5km to the south, at the head of Wye Creek.
A ``little cold'' but otherwise fine, they were flown to their vehicles at the Remarkables ski area car park about midnight.
One was a Queenstown resident, while the other three were from elsewhere in New Zealand.
Mr Halson said the flying of pilot Scott Dwyers, wearing night vision goggles, was ``exemplary'' in tricky 25-40-knot winds.
``His expertise in flying in the very difficult terrain, while being buffeted by very strong winds, was outstanding.''
A useful message for people who became lost in the mountains at night was to shine a torch or other light source if they heard a helicopter searching for them, he said.
