Slip Led To Fall, Hour-Long “Death-Grip” On Cliff Face

A woman hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail with a heavy backpack slipped and fell partway down a steep, unstable cliff face and clung there, but managed to send an SOS via her  inReach Mini but was unable to move from her position.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit released a video of the rescue, which was described as incredibly intense because when the helicopter arrived onscene, the woman was “death gripping the cliff” and her legs were shaking from exhaustion after hanging there for over an hour.

To use a rescue sling, the woman would have had to briefly release her grip on the wall, potentially leading to an uncontrolled situation that could have led to her falling further. So it was decided that the safest option was to “bear hug her and climb to the top” rather than maneuver her into a sling.

After a few tense minutes being held only by her legs and arms by a rescue specialist, they were dropped at the top of the cliff. The woman suffered scraped legs but otherwise was uninjured.

After a respite to gather strength, the sling was lowered and the woman and rescuer were hoisted to safety aboard the helo.

In a statement, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Aviation unit said, “The Pacific Crest Trail has been quite busy for us this season! Rescue 9 was called to the Whitewater area of the trail, just south of San Bernardino County for this stuck hiker.

She was able to send an emergency text to 911 via her emergency communications device. As you can see, this was an intense, technical rescue. 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.

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. As you can see, they both had quite the adrenaline dump once on top.”

FMI:  www.riversidesheriff.org/