MOUNT HOOD, Ore. - Rescue crews on Sunday helped retrieve a climber who fell and broke his leg while on Mount Hood early Sunday.

The man, 27-year-old Kristopher R. Haskins of Seattle, was apparently hit by something and fell a "significant distance" about 5 a.m. while climbing in the Sandy Glacier area on the mountain's southwest side, according to Detective Jim Strovink, a Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

The man's climbing partner called 911 about 6:45 a.m. and reported that the injured climber was conscious and breathing but suffering from the leg injury, Strovink said. Rescue crews, which included members of Portland Mountain Rescue, Mountain Wave Communications and American Medical Response Reach and Treat specialists, were summoned to help. Teams went up from Lolo Pass to reach him.

The injured climber was airlifted by an Oregon National Guard helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Strovink said. His condition was not immediately available.