A free climber who became trapped on a cliff in Georgia made a call for help on Tuesday, leading to a successful rescue by a firefighter who descended to save him.
The climber, whose identity remains unknown, found himself stuck on the west face of Mount Yonah, a mountain that rises 3,166 feet within the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in North Georgia.
As reported by the White County Public Safety team, the man reached out to 911 around 7 p.m., indicating that he couldn’t find a safe way to climb up or down.
Authorities utilized a drone to locate him, discovering he was perched on a small ledge measuring about 20 by 20 inches, situated roughly 260 feet above the ground.
Firefighter Will Roper from White County was the one who rappelled down to reach the stranded climber. Drone footage captured Roper maneuvering below the climber before safely securing him in a harness and attaching him to a rope.
Following this, the climber was pulled back up to safety.
The entire rescue operation took around 42 minutes, according to officials.
Roper shared with FOX 5 Atlanta that this was his very first experience rescuing someone from a mountain.
“I’ve practiced a lot with dummies and in training with other firefighters, but this was different—actually doing it with a live person was something new,” Roper remarked.
He admitted that it was a bit nerve-racking to go over the edge.
Interestingly, Roper noted that the climber remained surprisingly calm and even joked, asking, “Have you been rescued before? You’re pretty good at this.”
The climber mentioned to Roper that he was familiar with Mount Yonah but had simply taken a wrong turn and ended up stuck.
“I’ve been riding a high ever since, being able to help with my first rescue,” Roper added, expressing satisfaction in applying his technical skills to aid someone in need.
