Yong Chun Kim, 66, the snowshoer rescued Monday on Mount Rainier, says he survived for two freezing days and nights by digging a snow tunnel, marching in place and burning his socks, money and even toothpaste.

The Tacoma, Wash., resident told KOMO-TV that dreaming of his wife and a hot sauna also helped him stay warm.

BLOG: Snowshoer, 66, found alive after 2 days on Mount Rainier

Rescuers found Kim on Monday afternoon in a remote area of deep snow on the mountain's southwest flank. It took nine hours to evacuate him, but he was in such good condition that medics released him to his family rather than take him to a hospital

"I feel pretty good," Kim told KOMO late Monday at the park ranger station in Paradise, sipping hot coffee.

Kim, who has snowshoed for a decade, was leading 16 members of a hiking and climbing club when he slid down a slope. While making his way to rejoin the group, he radioed that he was OK and would meet them later, but he became disoriented and went the wrong way. He lost his radio and hiking pole during another tumble.

"He could have died. He was walking around, struggling to find a place, literally not knowing where to go," his stepson, Malcolm An, told the Associated Press. "He burned everything he had. He burned his toothpaste, Band-Aids, extra socks. He burned whatever he could."

Kim said he burned $1 and $5 bills in his wallet.

Using the fire he was able to make, Kim drank hot water and ate rice. He credits his survival to skills learned during his service in the South Korean army.