Ice climber nearing top of gully falls 60 feet down New Hampshire mountain, officials say
An ice climber was rescued after he was injured in a 60-foot fall down a gully, New Hampshire officials say.
The 55-year-old New Jersey man was climbing Shoestring Gully in the White Mountains with a friend Saturday, Dec. 14, when he fell as he neared the top, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a Dec. 16 news release.
The fall left the man with injuries to his head and arm, officials said.
Before continuing to climb up the ridge in search of cellphone service to call 911, the friend “secured him and dressed him in warm clothing,” according to officials.
Conservation officers, along with more than two dozen volunteers from two rescue organizations and an ambulance team, made their way to the injured climber after getting the call just before 7:30 p.m., according to officials.
A small team climbed the gully to reach the climber, while other rescuers hiked the ridge with equipment to raise him from the gully, officials said.
After finding the injured climber, rescuers stabilized his injuries and treated him for hypothermia, officials said.
Rescuers placed him in a litter and raised him 400 feet up the gully, officials said.
Then, rescuers carried the climber for nearly two miles until they reached the trailhead, officials said.
With parts of the trail being extremely steep, officials said rescuers “needed to use roped belays to move the litter safely down.”
The group reached the trailhead just after 5 a.m. the next day, ending the nearly 10-hour rescue, according to officials.
Rescuers took the climber to a hospital by ambulance.
Shoestring Gully, on Mount Webster about a 100-mile drive north from Manchester, is “one of the steepest trails in the White Mountains,” according to the climbing website Mountain Project.
This story was originally published December 16, 2024 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Ice climber nearing top of gully falls 60 feet down New Hampshire mountain, officials say."
