The West Australian father and daughter were airlifted from Pelion Hut in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park after snow hindered what was suppose to be a six-night, seven-day bushwalk.

Mr Koziniec successfully walked the overland track two years ago in winter, so he was well aware of Tasmania's unpredictable conditions.

He completed a multi-day mountaineering and bush survival course to prepare for this year's hike with his 15-year-old daughter.

"In my mind it was just part of being prudent," Mr Koziniec said about undertaking the course.

"I knew going out with someone not as familiar I wanted to have that extra margin of safety."

The pair took the ferry across Lake St Clair on July 11 to slightly shorten the track and get to the snowfields first.

"Because we come from WA we don't get any snow, so the snow is impressive for us," Mr Koziniec said.

"When we got to Kia Ora hut we'd already lost one day, so we knew it was going to be difficult."

Mr Koziniec knew Kia Ora was the only hut in the area with gas at the time of their hike, so the pair planned to dry our their gear and reset from there.

Despite facing a day of difficult conditions, their spirits were high and they planned an early start in a bid to get to Pelion Hut.

"We had a snowball fight and generally chilled out," Mr Koziniec said.

Waist-deep snow and fallen trees hampered Mr Koziniec and Emily's pace, with the pair first messaging Tracey - their mother and wife who was in the state as a precautionary communication point - about their slow going while attempting to hike from Kia Ora Hut to Pelion Hut.

The 8.2-kilometre walk normally takes about three hours, but the thick and increasing snow created a number of challenges.

"That three hours took us almost three days," Mr Koziniec said.

Despite waking up at 5.30am to get as much walking done during daylight hours, they only managed to cover 3kms.

"It was very thick snow and it was difficult to find the track even though I had three GPS capability devices," Mr Koziniec said.

"It was just a blanket of white."

They were equipped with all the right gear, including snow shoes and -20-degree sleeping bags, but the trek was mentally taxing.

"You're trying to lift your legs up above your knees, occasionally you're pot-holing with a heavy pack on so it's draining," Mr Koziniec said.

"I wasn't concerned about our safety, I was confident about that. I was more concerned that, when I did the maths, it was going to take us a long time."

Mr Koziniec was in constant contact with his wife throughout the trek and flagged with her that they were making very slow progress.

"In discussion with my wife, I was leaning to lets retreat because it's the devil you know," he said.

"I asked her to contact parks and wildlife to see what their advice was."

Mrs Koziniec tried to contact multiple numbers she'd found on the Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania website, but only got answering machines and no call backs.

A parks spokeswoman said phones services were down at Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair over the weekend because of the extreme weather conditions.

"Information provided to walkers planning their trips and on PWS out of hours services, advises people to contact emergency services on 000 for out of hours emergencies," the spokeswoman said.

Although Mr Koziniec was only after some general advice about whether other walkers had successfully completed the track recently, a lack of response led to Mrs Koziniec escalating the query to Tasmania Police.

"I was fairly confident we'd make it back to the hut that had a heater, it would be unsatisfying but we could probably walk out," Mr Koziniec said.

Police advised via Mrs Koziniec that the pair should walk to Pelion Gap, which was about 800-metres from their location at that time.

"It was a little bit against my gut, but we followed the advice," Mr Koziniec said.

"There's no way they could do any sort of extraction from Kia Ora."

In the past, Mr Koziniec and Emily had spoken about the concept of exposure and the mountains, but being at Pelion Gap was the 15-year-old's first experience of the harsh reality of the elements.

"This was very in your face, she was blown off her feet," he said.

"I wasn't keen to hang around looking at the sky for a helicopter."

They'd already camped one night in the snow and Pelion Gap was an extremely open area with limited protection from the elements.

Having damp gear was one of Mr Koziniec's few concerns, with each subsequent night camping getting colder and colder.

"Emily wanted to do some snow camping and I said 'maybe the last night', but it was sort of thrust upon us," he said.

"We would've been fine for another night, maybe two, but we wouldn't want to push it too long."

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter tried to winch Emily and Mr Koziniec out of the national park on Tuesday, but weather conditions forced the chopper to land at Pelion Hut.

"They flew around for a while but it was pretty clear they were having issues," Mr Koziniec said.

"Eventually the decision was made that it was fine to walk towards Pelion and the police dispatched their own team, so that sped things up."

After landing the helicopter, a police officer and a paramedic walked towards Kia Ora to meet the two bushwalkers, who were about 1.5 kilometres south of the hut.

"I can't say I'm stoked to be extracted... but it was good for Emily," Mr Koziniec said.

"I think the first snow night was a bit confronting for Emily, but she wasn't quite sure whether dad was talking a mean game or we'd be alright."

Mr Koziniec was thankful to those involved in helping them get out of the national park, saying it was a testament to their skills and organisation.

Mr Koziniec said the pair weren't cold and were never in fear of their lives.

"The coldest I've been is going from our hotel room to the buffet breakfast 20-metres away because all my snow gear was in the wash," Mr Koziniec said

"We had all the right gear. It is cold in Tasmania but its not crazy cold.

"What makes it dangerous is you get wet, it's nearly zero and you've got the wind chill."

Despite the treacherous conditions, Mr Koziniec and Emily have vowed to return to the track.

"I like the weather and solitude at this time of year, but I'd be happy to see it in spring, but [Emily] said 'no let's come back and see it in winter'," he said.

"The weather was exciting and fun, it really was just that we were making very slow progress and wouldn't make it out in a reasonable time."

After the rescue the Koziniec family spent two nights at their pre-booked accommodation in Cradle Mountain.