Christian Campos, 28, originally of Austin, Texas, was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital on December 29 after a sudden 30m descent into the northwest face of the Wānaka landmark.
He started the new year in a coma, from which he awoke on January 2.
"Here’s my dad, straight off a plane, and all these doctors telling me they thought I was going to die," he said.
"And here’s me feeling like I’ve just woken up from too many beers."
He only had to look down to see the story told on his body.
From his left shoulder to both feet, more bones than he could list had "exploded", leaving surgeons with hours of cleaning and reassembly using scores of fragments and titanium screws and plates.
"The pain relief they had wasn’t working and they wouldn’t give me what I asked for, so when I wasn’t crying out in pain I was pretty foul-tempered ... The rest of the ward wouldn’t stand for it - and fair enough.
"That’s how I got evicted from Dunedin Hospital," Mr Campos said.
Now recuperating at Clutha Health First, in Balclutha, Mr Campos said he expected to be able to walk within weeks.
He said he continued to surprise doctors with his recovery, particularly since he was originally diagnosed with "catastrophic" diffuse axonal injury, where brain tissue is sheared apart by impact trauma.
Mr Campos, a welder, discovered his passion for paragliding shortly after arriving in New Zealand two years ago.
He took a tandem ride on a thrill-seeking spree in Queenstown and was hooked.
At the time of the accident Mr Campos was living in Wānaka and was completing his pilot’s licensing.
"I’d just proved I had the skills to basically climb a mountain without setting foot on the ground and I was stoked," Mr Campos said.
"So, it hurts all the more to know I f..... up and almost killed myself just going up to practise on my home hill I’ve flown a dozen times.
"About the time I got used to the pain is when I knew I was here because of my own choices.
"Nobody wanted me to be in pain ... I was suddenly nothing but grateful for everything that’s been given to me - a stranger - from all these amazing people, volunteer emergency services, surgeons [and] nurses."
Mr Campos said his near-death experience had not put him off paragliding.
"I felt so joyful when I was flying. And I’m not an idiot. I knew this could happen to me since before my first flight from Taylor’s Mistake, but I risked it anyways.
"That’s how badly I wanted that closeness and love and spiritual relation. So yes, I’m going to keep flying because it’s worth it," he said.
