An injured climber who plunged down a Blue Mountains cliff while rock climbing with friends has been winched to safety after spending the night awaiting rescue.

The man, who is in his 50s, was scaling the cliff face at Point Pilcher lookout in Medlow Bath on Sunday afternoon with a group of friends when he fell 20 metres, landing on a metre-wide ledge below.

He spent the night on a small rock ledge halfway down a 200 metre cliff face wrapped in a thermal blanket and in communication with a team of specialist paramedics after injuring his wrists and ankles in the fall.

Rescue crews spent the night trying to get the man to safety but struggled to complete the mission in the dark and were forced to call it off just after midnight because the risk to crews was too great.

Paramedics finally reached the man on Monday afternoon and successfully winched him to safety before he was flown to Westmead Hospital.

Acting Inspector Cynthia Walden, of NSW Police, said the man, aged in his 50s, suffered injuries to his ankles and wrist as a result of the fall.

"It was approximately 20 metres down when the man came into difficulty, and as a result he suffered injuries to both his ankles and his wrist," she said.

"Luckily there was phone reception down there, so one of his friends was able to alert emergency services."

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said they received a call at about 4.15pm on Sunday afternoon, and had spent the night with the man as temperatures dropped to 4C.

"It took us a while to get to their location given he's in a remote area," he said.

"Four people, including two critical-care paramedics, have been with the patient since yesterday.

"The two critical-care paramedics have given him pain relief, stabilised any fractures, provided shelter for him, and additional warm clothing."

The man was fastened into a stretcher on Monday afternoon after authorities abseiled down the cliff face to reach him. He was then winched the man to the base of the cliff and transferred to hospital via helicopter for proper assessment.

Originally published as Climber rescued after 20m Blue Mountains cliff plunge