A Free Soloist Got Stuck 500 Feet up a Cliff. New Hampshire Doesn’t Plan to Bill Him.
A 30-year-old climber named William Carron was free soloing a route called Sliding Board on New Hampshire’s Whitehorse Ledge on October 25 when he had to stop. Nearly 500 feet above the ground, he no longer felt comfortable climbing up or down.
The incident sparked a dramatic rescue. Nine volunteer climbers helped Carron get back to the ground, according to a Facebook post from New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division.
“The climber had already done the hardest part of the route, but the rock is smooth granite with very little to hold on to,” Sgt. Alex Lopashanski of the New Hampshire Fish and Game office told Outside. “That can make it hard to figure out where to put your hands and feet next.”
Lopashanski coordinated the rescue from the ground.
“I honestly believe it was within his ability,” Lopashanski said. “It just wasn’t the day for it.”
Sliding Board, in Hale’s Location near North Conway in the White Mountains, is a multipitch route that climbers typically tackle with ropes and protective gear. Mountain Project’s description of the route lists fixed bolts, belay anchors, and placements for removable protection.
“This particular person didn’t have any gear with him because he was planning on going to the top. Obviously, this turned out to be a mistake,” Lopashanski said.
Whitehorse Ledge is known for its smooth, glacier-polished granite slabs, where obvious handholds can be hard to come by. Much of the climbing comes down to careful footwork and trusting your shoes to stick.
That slick stone has caught seasoned climbers before. According to an American Alpine Club accident report in October 2021, an experienced guide slipped while climbing Sliding Board and broke an arm and a finger before his partner helped him descend.
Waiting It Out, 500 Feet Up
Recognizing his limits on the unfamiliar rock, Carron climbed back down to a small, relatively level spot where he could stand and wait, Lopashanski said. Fish and Game learned of his situation shortly after 8 A.M, according to its October 26 release.
When Lopashanski called to assess the situation, Carron told him he could wait there for hours.
“He had no equipment with him, so wasn’t clipped in or anything. But he was totally calm about it,” Lopashanski said.
Help was close by. Lopashanski called Mountain Rescue Service, a volunteer team of climbers and guides that handles technical mountain rescues. The cliff is near a golf course parking lot, and the team was based nearby, he said.
A total of nine team members climbed to Carron, secured him, and fixed ropes back to the cliff’s base, according to Fish and Game. North Conway Fire and Rescue also responded to the call.
Lopashanski described Carron’s position as relatively easy for the skilled rescuers to reach. “They make it look easy because for them it kind of is,” he said.
Carron and the entire rescue party were safely on the ground shortly before 10 A.M.
Who Pays for the Ride Down?
Getting safely to the ground is one thing, but in New Hampshire, the ride down can also come with an invoice. Under state law, Fish and Game can recover its reasonable response costs from people whose negligence made a rescue necessary.
Outside has previously reported on how officials assess preparedness when recommending those bills.
Carron will not be on the hook, however. A Fish and Game representative confirmed to Outside that the department does not plan to seek reimbursement for the October 25 rescue. The agency did not specify the reasoning behind the decision.
The post A Free Soloist Got Stuck 500 Feet up a Cliff. New Hampshire Doesn’t Plan to Bill Him. appeared first on Outside Online.
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