BURKE COUNTY, N.C. --
A hiker was stranded almost 9 hours on the side of Table Rock Mountain. He was able to get free just before 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning.
Officials haven't identified him. Emergency crews said the man was stuck 240 feet up the side of Table Rock Mountain in the Linville Gorge Wilderness on Wednesday afternoon.
At first, they did not know the climber's condition because he was not responding to their attempts to communicate with him.
A National Guard helicopter with two Charlotte firefighters aboard was dispatched Wednesday night to attempt the tricky rescue of a climber stranded on Table Rock Mountain about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Officials told Eyewitness News the climber was tangled and managed to untangle himself. The rescue helicopter flew him off the mountain to a nearby airport.
The climber was okay, and a friend took him back to camp in the woods.
The Linville Gorge is in the Pisgah National Forest and is one of the most remote areas in the eastern United States, with heavily forested mountains and miles of hiking trails.
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