Rescue crews in New Hampshire endured difficult conditions on Friday to rescue an ice climber who was injured after falling 20 feet.
Steep terrain, high winds and sleet challenged the rescuers as they worked to reach the injured climber on Mount Willard.
According to New Hampshire Fish and Game officials, Tom Boydston, 64, of Center Conway, was climbing the Monkey Wrench route on Mount Willard in Crawford Notch on Friday afternoon when he fell roughly 20 feet.
Boydston suffered multiple injuries and was unable to extract himself, but his climbing partners and other climbers who were in the area lowered him to a safe spot to wait for rescuers.
Fish and Game conservation officers along with members of Bartlett and Twin Mountain fire rescue services and Mountain Rescue Service responded to the 911 call for help.
Officials said the technical difficulty of the terrain combined with high winds, sleet, rain and darkness delayed the rescue.
Rescuers carrying Boydston arrived at the parking area on Route 302 around 7:30 p.m., roughly five and a half hours after the accident. Boydston was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in North Conway.