A man had to be plucked with a long line off the side of Mt Ngauruhoe by the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter.
The man was "skittled" by a tumbling rock, said media liason for the Philips Search & Rescue Trust, Vanessa Richmond.
Knocked from his feet, he reportedly fell 50m head over heels down the steep slope.
The man was taken to Rotorua Hospital.