50 Years Ago Today, Hank Williams Jr. Nearly Died in Mountain Fall originally appeared on Parade.
Country music almost lost one of its most treasured artists when Hank Williams Jr. suffered a near-fatal fall down a mountain 50 years ago today.
On August 8, 1975, Williams, now 76, was climbing Ajax Peak in Montana when the snow beneath him collapsed, causing him to fall 500 feet onto rock and resulting in multiple traumatic skull and facial fractures. He subsequently underwent 17 surgeries to repair his skull and reconstruct his face and spent two years recovering as he learned how to talk and sing again. Following the accident, Williams adopted a new look, growing a beard and wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat to conceal his scars.
Over the years, Williams has reflected on his near-death experience on a handful of occasions.
“When I fell, there were only two people I saw when I woke up in the hospital bed, and that was Johnny [Cash] and June [Carter Cash],” he told Rolling Stone in 2015. “June put a cross on me and told me it was all going to be OK. I never knew if I would sing again or not, talk again or not, let alone think about what I was going to look like. It was a scary time.”
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During a 2022 appearance on The Bobby Bones Show, Williams noted that “530 feet was a long way” to fall, adding that he still endures pain from the ordeal.
As for whether he blacked out afterward, he revealed, “That’s why I lived, they said. I remember every bit of it.”
Williams also recalled doubting that he would survive his injuries.
“They strapped me to the outside of a helicopter. That ride was pretty rough, cold,” he recounted. “Then you get down there, and they cut everything off. I said, ‘Don’t cut my cross off.’ They cut everything off. I had a gun in a shoulder holster when I fell. They cut the holster off. Cut all of that off, operated all night, woke up, I don’t know, a day and a half later, something like that.”
When asked when he could sing again during his recovery, he shared that “it was a long time after” his fall, explaining, “It was starting all over.”
While Williams endured a long journey to resume his career, 50 years after the accident, he is still touring and making music.
50 Years Ago Today, Hank Williams Jr. Nearly Died in Mountain Fall first appeared on Parade on Aug 8, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
