Killington, VT – A Connecticut man and his 11-year-old son spent hours huddled in a snow cave waiting for rescue after skiing off trail at Pico Mountain ski area in Vermont on Saturday.

Scott Barbarossa, 50, of Norwich, Conn., was skiing Pico with his son Zachary when he dialed 911 from his cell phone at about 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon to report that they were lost after venturing into the woods. Police dispatchers maintained contact with Barbarossa for about an hour before his cell phone battery lost charge. Barbarossa’s wife told the New London (Conn.) Day newspaper that dispatchers were about to tell Barbarossa simply to descend the mountain to reach the main road when the signal was lost.

The pair were located at about 10 p.m. Saturday night in a snow cave that they had constructed. Searchers included members of the Vermont State Police and game wardens, Killington ski patrol and a Killington search-and-rescue team.

“They checked us out and said our temperature was a bit low, but we were fine,” Scott Barbarossa told reporters.