Shivering, hungry, lost on a mountain in blizzard conditions, two Alberta boys spent a night in a snow cave sleeping in shifts and dreaming of food and rescue. But the Kolla brothers' cool heads, backwoods savvy and faith in themselves saw them through to celebrate the younger boy's birthday.

Earlier this week they described how they did it.

"We had faith that we could pull through it and we kept our cool and didn't panic," said A.J. Kolla, who celebrated his 14th birthday on Tuesday, two days after he and his brother were caught out overnight at the Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort in Sandpoint, Idaho.

The ordeal began Saturday morning, when the boys took a wrong turn heading back to the resort chalet. The boys were skiing by themselves while their father attended a veterinary conference.

The two kept heading downhill, but when they reached a riverbank around 4 p.m., they realized they were lost and decided to head back uphill to try to regain their way.

"When we were hiking back and it was starting to get dark, we realized 'Oh oh, we're going to be here for a while,'" said A.J.

Using their hands, the two dug into the snow hollow around the base of a tree, covered the floor with pine boughs and settled in for a long, cold night.

"We slept in shifts, 'cause it was very cold and we were very wet," said Michael, 15.

The two conserved heat by crossing their arms over their chests and pressing up back-to-back. Wiggling their toes to keep out frostbite, they talked about getting home and eating.

"A.J. kept talking about a strudel that was left at the hotel," said Michael. "I had a dream that we all of sudden stumbled across a fort or a hut, and it was warm and we had tons of food."

Meanwhile, a blizzard outside the shelter was dumping 45 centimetres of snow and whipping it around with 110-kilometres-an-hour winds. The weather was so bad that the search parties were called in and the search called off.

Shortly after 6 a.m., there was enough light for the boys to start hiking back again. But after four hours of post-holing uphill through snow up to their waists, they were too tired to continue.

They dug a cave into a snowbank, crossed Michael's skis out front in case a helicopter flew over, and went inside to rest.

"A.J. was lying there and shivering and I'd always be thinking, `It's a helicopter,'" Michael said.

After a rest, they set out again and soon came to the cross-country ski trail where they were found by a party of snowmobilers. They had no frostbite or hypothermia.

"The ski patrol helped us out, first aid, got some food, and that's about all," shrugged A.J.

Father Michael Kolla was at the resort after a sleepless night when he got the word the boys were safe and sound.

"I was just ecstatic," he recalls. "We were in a circle and jumping around and hugging each other."

His wife Carol was on a plane flying to Sandpoint when a message came back from the pilot saying: "Boys found. Under observation."

"Then we just had a great drive up to Schweitzer," she said, her voice shaking. "We were so happy."

The family credits winter camping tips from a friend for saving the boys' lives. Although they'd never slept out in one before, Michael and A.J. had built snow shelters many times in their backyard.

"They knew if they built these things they'd stay warm," said Carol. "They helped my boys live."

The boys soon figured they would have to stick together to survive.

"At the start when we were just lost, we were kind of snappy at each other, but by the end we were encouraging each other, saying `You can do it,' " said Michael.

"When we were on the mountain I just thought that we've got to keep our heads on and keep ourselves together and encourage each other and that's what ending up happening."

When will they hit the hill next?

"Soon as possible, I guess," said Michael.

1. Whom or what a night did two Alberta boys spend in a snow cave sleeping in shifts and dreaming of food and rescue shivering, hungry, lost on a mountain in blizzard conditions?