A snowboarder who went missing on the slopes at Whitefish Mountain Resort was found safe on Christmas Day after taking shelter in a survival cabin on the backside of Big Mountain.

The 18-year-old went missing Dec. 25, according to information shared by North Valley Search and Rescue.

North Valley and Flathead County Search and Rescue were called to search the ski resort, and teams scoured the frontside and backside slopes and out-of-bounds terrain.

Searchers eventually found footprints out of bounds heading toward a rescue cabin maintained by the Flathead Snowmobile Association. The teen was found at 8:40 p.m. inside and staying warm by a fire.

“He was cold, hungry and very tired from his long walk,” North Valley Search and Rescue said.

Rescuers met ski patrol at Big Mountain’s summit at 10 p.m., who took the snowboarder back to his family.

“He did the right thing by hunkering down and waiting for help to arrive,” North Valley Search and Rescue said.

Volunteers from the Flathead Snowmobile Association built the small survival cabin in the 1980s after the original shelter was vandalized and burned.

“Huge thanks to Flathead Snowmobile Association for all you guys do to keep places like these stocked and available for folks when it could quite literally mean life or death,” North Valley Search and Rescue said.