Injured climber plucked off mountain

A climber had to be rescued off Mt Ruapehu by a rescue helicopter crew after falling on slopes and getting injured.

The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Mt Ruapehu last night.

A party of two had climbed the southern slopes with the intention of skiing and boarding down, and one of them had fallen and was injured on the descent.

A statement from the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter said the RARO alpine rescue and Mt Ruapehu ski patrol were flown to a summit ridge just on 9000ft and made their way down to an injured man.

A decision was made to bring the man to a lower flatter slope where he could be more safely recovered by the helicopter.

With darkness falling and bad weather approaching from the south and west, he was flown to Rotorua Hospital, the statement.