A man described as an experienced New Hampshire hiker died this week near Mount Bond, apparently the victim of brutal winter weather that delayed efforts to retrieve his body.

According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, the deceased was Christopher Roma, 37, of Thornton, “an experienced and well known hiker, hiking extensively throughout New Hampshire’s White Mountains and beyond.” Roma called friends on Tuesday evening saying he was in distress. Officials made contact with his phone when he was between Mount Bond and Mount Guyot. “Before the call was lost the hiker stated he was very cold,” Fish and Game wrote in a press release.

It took until 2 a.m. Wednesday for rescuers to hike to his location through “waist-deep snow,” with high winds above treeline and temperatures in the single digits. Three attempts to reach the site by a National Guard helicopter failed due to low clouds.

Rescuers reached Roma at 5 p.m. Wednesday but he was already dead. The weather forced the teams to head back down without his body, which was retrieved by a National Guard helicopter on Thursday morning. “The aerial recovery saved what would have been an arduous carry out for the 15 conservation officers and over 30 volunteers.”

Further details were unavailable Thursday.