A person escaped a South Island avalanche with shoulder injuries this afternoon.

Five climbers were caught in an avalanche on Gammack range, east of Mount Cook just after 3.20pm

A mountain rescue co-ordinator spokesperson says one injured person, believed to be a man, was choppered to Christchurch Hospital.

She says everyone else is safe, but the injured climber has abrasions as well as the injured shoulder.

The New Zealand Avalanche Advisory shows the Aoraki-Mt Cook area is at "considerable" avalanche risk, with fresh snow and windslab danger as the westerly wind rises