An alpine climber is today in Waikato Hospital after being airlifted in a dramatic rescue from a ridge on Mount Ruapehu.

The 62-year-old Auckland man was climbing a vertical rockface when he fell about five metres from the top of Pinnacle Ridge at 7300 feet, an altitude of 2225metres, on Sunday afternoon.

An Auckland man climbing Mount Ruapehu fell five metres near the top of Pinnacle Ridge.

National Park Police co-ordinated a search and rescue response involving Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation and LandSAR volunteers assisted by Whakapapa ski patrol and Iwikau medical centre staff.

The Taupo-based Greenlea rescue helicopter was called in to assist and pilot Nat Every says they arrived to find the man suspended by his climbing ropes on a near vertical icy rock face.

The recovered man being loaded into the helicopter for the flight to the medical centre.

'The Greenlea helicopter lifted a rescuer on a110' static long line to the scene and held him there while the RARO team member put the climber into a harness.”

The pair were then lifted from the cliff face and flown to an adjacent landing area above the Whakapapa ski area in what Nat says was a 'dramatic” and tricky rescue.

The man was subsequently flown down the mountain and stabilised by Iwikau medical centre doctors and OSJ paramedics before being transported to Waikato Hospital.