Watch: Crews rescue stranded hiker 'death gripping' cliff on Southern California trail

Harrowing video shows rescue crews saving a stranded hiker “death gripping” a cliff in a “precarious” spot on a Southern California trail over the weekend. 

Riverside County Sheriff’s Office’s Aviation Division posted the footage to Instagram on Monday, stating that the stuck woman was in the Whitewater area of Pacific Coast Trail just south of the San Bernardino County line on Sunday.

“She was able to send an emergency text to 911 via her Garmin-type emergency communications device,” the Instagram post said.  

After receiving the emergency message, RSO’s Rescue 9 was deployed to the area, where they found the stranded hiker in a “very precarious spot” on a cliffside hanging on for her life. 

She had been there for over an hour, RSO revealed. The video shows the woman’s legs shaking as she was grabbing onto the cliffside. 

“Due to her very precarious spot, which she was exhausted from that position for over an hour and with a heavy pack with unsure footing, the rescue specialist determined the safest option was to bear hug her and climb to the top,” officials said. “He just could not risk asking her to lift her arms that she was clearly death gripping the cliff with, in order to place a rescue strap on.” 

The woman could be heard screaming as she began to be hoisted to the top of the cliff to safety. She was eventually taken away from the area via helicopter.

The footage showed she sustained some cuts on her leg, but she otherwise appeared uninjured, albeit a bit shaken. 

“This was an intense, technical rescue,” officials said.  

RSO added that Pacific Crest Trail has been “quite busy” for rescue crews this year. The 2,650-mile trail stretches from Mexico to Canada and runs through California, Oregon and Washington.

Full video of the rescue can be viewed below:

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