NZCC West Coast Rescue Helicopter pilot Angus Taylor said when they arrived from Greymouth about 12.40pm, a West Coast District Health Board doctor who had been travelling south on his way to work was also at the scene.
Taylor said the waves were "smashing into the coast with water coming up and over".
Where the man had fallen was directly in the line of waves and the sea was blowing in.
It took paramedics about 50 minutes to stabilise the man, who had either suffered his injuries when hitting the compacted sand below the cliff, or by hitting a rock on the way down.
The injured man was put into an induced coma and stabilised prior to being winched out by the rescue helicopter at 1.30pm.
He was flown to Westport Airport from where he was transferred to the Nelson Rescue Helicopter and on to Wellington Hospital.
The decision to take him to Wellington was due to poor flying conditions between Westport and Christchurch at the time, Taylor said.
A Capital and Coast District Health Board spokesman said this morning the man was in a critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Westport sergeant Malcolm Lamont said he understood the climbers had been using ropes earlier but the injured man was free climbing when he fell.
Charleston and Westport firefighters attended as well as St John, police and the rescue helicopter.
Westport fire chief Alan Kennedy said they sent a rescue tender and a support van with ropes and lines for a cliff rescue.
When they arrived paramedics were already with the injured man.
Firefighters put a safety line down to help those who had clambered down to get back up the cliff.
Taylor said flying conditions yesterday were not too bad. It was the first time the helicopter had made a rescue from Constant Bay.
"But we've talked about it. We always suspected one day we would get a call there because we know it's popular with climbers."
St John Buller territory manager Robbie Blankenstein said five St John personnel from Westport, Greymouth and Nelson responded.
-Greymouth Star and Westport News
