A free climber stranded on a cliff in North Georgia was rescued Tuesday night after calling 911, prompting a firefighter to rappel down the rock face to bring him to safety.
Authorities have not released the climber’s name. He became stuck on the west face of Mount Yonah, a 3,166-foot mountain ridge in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.
White County Public Safety officials said the man called 911 around 7 p.m. and reported that he could not safely climb either up or down the mountain.
Rescuers deployed a drone and found the climber standing on a ledge measuring roughly 20 inches by 20 inches, about 260 feet above the ground.
White County firefighter Will Roper maneuvers below the free climber stranded on Georgia’s Mount Yonah on the night of Aug. 25, 2026. (White County Public Safety)
White County firefighter Will Roper rappelled down Mount Yonah to reach the man. Drone footage showed Roper positioning himself beneath the climber before securing him in a harness and attaching him to the rope. The climber was then hoisted back to the top of the mountain.
Officials said the full mountain rescue operation lasted about 42 minutes.
Roper told FOX 5 Atlanta it was the first mountain rescue of his firefighting career.
Firefighter Will Roper goes over the edge of Mount Yonah on Aug. 25 to rescue a stranded climber. (White County Public Safety)
“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 was strikingly calm, telling FOX 5 he jokingly asked him: “Have you been rescued before? You’re pretty good at this.”
Will Roper and the free climber are seen on the west face of Mount Yonah during the Aug. 25 rescue operation. (White County Public Safety)
The climber told Roper that he had experience with Mount Yonah but simply picked the wrong route and got stuck.
“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.
