If they had had good luck I would not have ever heard about it.
Assuming you meant
hadn't had good luck ... yes, they were lucky to be heard by anyone at all. They were lucky not to slide off a cliff. And so on.
But luck favors the prepared:
"I may say that this is the greatest factor -- the way in which the expedition is equipped -- the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in order -- luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck."
Roald Amundsen Being able to call out for help at all after a night out in the snow was not luck at all - that was training, attitude, skills and a lot of hard work.
The simplest thing that would have eliminated most of the need to depend on "luck" in their little misadventure is filing a game plan.
After a game plan, a PLB - but like them, I don't carry one (yet), so who am I to argue?
Bringing a GPS is debatable - a great tool, but expecting a successful GPS assisted return under the conditions they were in
(snowy weather=poor visibility on a mountain ridge) is questionable - although probably doable if you wait for moments of "just enough" visibility to negotiate the tricky parts. And having the unit ON so you can backtrack makes a huge difference (but does not totally eliminate the need to SEE where you are going in steep terrain). I say you need skills and training - and a bit of luck - to do that.
Then, of course, there are ways to improve the odds of "luck" happening. Such as a whistle.
Increasing the comfort level (better clothing, bivy bag and so on) actually translates to increased odds of living yet another day. Which again increases the odds of "luck" happening.
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