A Georgia firefighter rappelled down a sheer cliff face to rescue a stranded free climber who called 911 from a ledge more than 200 feet up.
The unidentified climber became trapped Tuesday evening on the west face of Mount Yonah, a 3,166-foot mountain ridge located in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in North Georgia. White County Public Safety officials said the man dialed 911 around 7 p.m. To report he could not safely ascend or descend the rock face.
Authorities deployed a drone to pinpoint the climber’s exact position. They found him standing on a ledge measuring roughly 20 inches by 20 inches, approximately 260 feet above the ground.
White County firefighter Will Roper descended the mountain to reach the man. Drone footage captured Roper maneuvering beneath the stranded climber before securing him in a harness and clipping him to the rope. The climber was then hoisted to the summit.
The entire rescue operation lasted about 42 minutes, officials said.
Roper, speaking to FOX 5 Atlanta, said this marked his first real mountain rescue.
“I’ve done a lot with dummies and a lot with other firefighters in training, but that’s the first time that I’ve ever done it, kind of in the heat of the moment with a live subject,” Roper said.
“It was a little nerve-racking going over the edge,” he added.
Roper said the climber remained remarkably composed throughout the ordeal. The firefighter jokingly asked him: “Have you been rescued before? You’re pretty good at this.”
The climber told Roper he had prior experience with Mount Yonah but had simply chosen the wrong route and found himself stuck with no way out.
“I’ve been on kind of a high since then, just to have the first rescue,” Roper said, adding that he was glad to be able to help someone using his technical training.
In the viral moment that drew widespread attention online, some viewers criticized the climber for pulling out his phone while stranded on the mountainside rather than focusing solely on his precarious situation. The footage showed him holding the device during at least part of the rescue, sparking debate about whether he was documenting the experience or using the phone’s light to assist rescuers. The criticism surfaced across social media platforms as drone video of Roper’s dramatic descent circulated widely.