Rescue crews have safely removed a base jumper from a ledge near the top of The Chief in Squamish, B.C., and he is now in hospital.

The 27-year-old man was stranded on the rock face for more than three hours Wednesday afternoon after he was blown onto a ledge between 1 and 2 p.m.

Rescue workers rappelled 80 metres down the cliff to reach the jumper, and used a pulley system to get him back to the top.

By 8 p.m., he was on his way to the hospital.

Freelance journalist Angela Heck told CTV News that the jumper was caught in the wind as he deployed his parachute. She said she spoke to several climbers at the popular rock face, who watched the accident happen.

"He's on a ledge, it looks like he might have a broken ankle, but seems to be otherwise okay," Heck said.

In base jumping, extreme sports enthusiasts use parachutes to jump from fixed objects. "Base" is actually an acronym for the four main categories of objects that can be used as a platform: building, antenna, span and earth.