A climber was airlifted from the North West ridge of Mt Aspiring with a broken ankle this morning (Wednesday February 28).

Wānaka Search and Rescue (SAR) chair Bill Day told the Wānaka App the 22-year-old male from overseas was climbing alone.

“Conditions were good up there so we were pretty relaxed about [the rescue],” Bill said.

“We put one of our guys on the bottom of a 30-metre line, then flew him and the injured party to a ridge.”

The climber’s condition was assessed on a flatter area on the ridge, before he was flown to Wānaka Lakes Health Centre for treatment.

Bill said there were nine people involved in the operation, including the incident management team, the pilot and two or three SAR team members in the helicopter.

Wānaka SAR is entirely volunteer-run and members leave work and busy lives for call-outs. People can donate to the organisation here.