Hiker falls 300 feet to death from cliff while taking photos with his wife atop mountain in New Hampshire

A hiker fell 300 feet to his death after tumbling from a cliff on the summit of Mount Willard in Crawford Notch, officials said. The hiker and his wife were snapping photos late Saturday morning before she heard her husband call out, and turned to see him falling over the edge of the cliff, New Hampshire Fish and Game said.

Mountain Rescue Service technicians had to rappel in icy conditions to retrieve the hiker’s body from the face of the cliff, and it took hours to move the body to the trailhead parking lot, officials said.

State officials didn’t immediately release the name of the victim or spouse.

With an elevation of about 2,865 feet, Mount Willard is in the center of Crawford Notch, and its summit provides a commanding view of the region.

It marks at least the second fatality on Mount Willard this year. In February, an ice climber collapsed and died while hiking up the mountain.

It also marks at least the third hiking fatality in New Hampshire in the past six months. In August, a hiker descending Cannon Mountain died after slipping and falling off a ledge, and in June, a man died after he was overcome by wet and cold conditions while hiking through the White Mountain range.