He was carried to safety after several hours on a fogbound moorland in South Yorkshire.
The Hepworth-based Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team, led by Team Leader Mike France, was alerted at 7.30pm on Christmas Day when the man made a 999 call on his mobile phone.
The pensioner, who had been out walking earlier in the day, was lost on "Big Moor", south of Sheffield.
The man had gone out for a day's walking with his dog, after parking his car in Longshaw car park by the Fox House pub.
Mr France said: "The weather was shocking. It was thick fog, with visibility down to only 10 metres in places, and bitterly cold.
"At about 6.30pm, the man realised he was lost and called 999 from his mobile phone giving the Mountain Rescue teams an area where he thought he was.
"Forty members from Woodhead and Edale teams were called along
with our local search dog owned by Steve Ward, of Blackburn's Outdoors shop, at Moldgreen.
"Two other mountain rescue air-scenting search dogs joined the search, working as a team with Steve, and they found the man about 10pm.
"He had been sitting down to wait for rescue and was suffering from hypothermia.
"Because of his condition we had to carry him off the moor with a stretcher party and it was a further two hours before he was brought to safety".
The man was taken to a waiting ambulance early yesterday morning and given a check-up before being taken to hospital.
Mr France said: "In total the incident lasted five hours.
"Members had then to drive home or back to base at Hepworth to restore and clean kit on the vehicles. It meant members of the Woodhead team did not finish until 2.00am.
"We, like other emergency services, are on call 24 hours a day every day to help people who get themselves into trouble."
