Climber Clinging to Side of a Mountain Scrolls on His Phone While Waiting for Rescuers

A free climber in Georgia killed time while waiting to be rescued from the edge of Mount Yonah by doing what we all do — scrolling on his phone.

In drone video of the dramatic rescue, the stranded climber wore black shorts, a white T-shirt, sneakers and carried a camouflage backpack with no safety equipment or harness. He was seen somewhat casually clinging to the side of the mountain as firefighters above him prepared for one of them to rappel down on a rope to save him. The unidentified man was also seen taking his phone and seemingly scrolling idly while he waited the 42 minutes it took for first responders to help him.

While it may seem funny that the man was checking his phone during such a dire time, he’s lucky he not only had it but had a free arm to use it. On Tuesday, August 25, the White County Public Safety Office reports the county received a 911 call from the man who reported he was stuck on the side of the mountain with no way to continue up or safely descend back down.

The drone was able to quickly locate him roughly 260 feet above the ground on a 20” x 20” ledge and direct first responders to his location. In the video, firefighter Will Roper donned safety equipment and bravely rappelled down the mountain to the man’s position and gave him a safety harness before strapping their bodies together and beginning the journey back down, assisted by fellow firefighters working the rope up top.

After the rescue, the man had no injuries and was able to leave completely unscathed — hopefully a little better educated on the dangers of free climbing.

“White County Public Safety would like to recognize the coordinated response of all agencies involved and the work of personnel who safely brought the incident to a successful conclusion,” the agency said in its post on Facebook.