Sumner firefighters and a paramedic had to assist the patient up the steep gully beneath the climbing wall near Livingstone Bay.
The man’s climbing partner called emergency services for help about 4.20pm on July 26.
“It had taken a bit of time for him to get help, so I think they were relieved to see us arrive,” said Sumner chief fire officer Daryl Sayer.
Sayer and two other brigade members were the first to trek down the rugged and steep gully to deliver first aid to the man.
He said the brigade’s recent medical first response training helped them treat the patient and make him comfortable.
“Other than the arduous conditions trying to get to him, he was in a reasonably safe location.”
A Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue helicopter then dropped off a paramedic who took the lead giving the man medical attention.
“It’s fortunate we did have the helicopter because otherwise it would have been a very arduous task to get them all the way out of there,” said Sayer.
“Everyone was knackered after climbing down and climbing back up that hill section.”
Sayer said responses to climbing accidents are rare for the Sumner brigade and he wasn’t aware of any falls from the Jane Fonda wall in the past.
“It’s certainly made us more aware of what’s around the hills.”
Two appliances from Sumner also attended the scene and were backed up by an appliance from the Woolston station.
