Watch: Woman Clings In 'Death Grip' To Cliffside Below Pacific Crest Trail In RivCo

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — The Riverside County Sheriff's Department Aviation Crew shared a dramatic emergency rescue on the Pacific Crest Trail this week.

"The Pacific Crest Trail has been quite busy for us this season!" a spokesperson said on Instagram.

The sheriff department's Rescue 9 team was called out on Sunday morning just after 10 a.m. to the Whitewater trail area, just south of San Bernardino County, to aid a hiker who became stuck on a position below the Pacific Crest Trail.

The hiker became trapped in a highly precarious spot, clinging to the cliffside near the top of a steep ridge, according to the sheriff's aviation team. When the rescue team arrived, she was exhausted from holding that position for over an hour, wearing a heavy pack, clinging to the rock face on unsure footing.

According to the department, she sent an emergency text to 911 using her Garmin-type emergency communications device. According to the Garmin website, the device responder initiates an SOS rescue using GPS. The appropriate rescue team is then sent to the exact location to render aid.

A rescuer was lowered to where she clung to the mountainside and worked with the crew above to achieve a proper angle for their ascent. According to the Sheriff's Department's video, the rescue specialist determined that the safest option was to bear-hug her and climb them to the peak.

When he arrived, the rescue was complicated by the woman's exhaustion and her "death grip" on the cliff. According to the video, her legs shook from exhaustion and adrenaline as they maneuvered into position.

"He could not risk asking her to lift her arms to place a rescue strap on," a team spokesperson said.

Their conversation was captured on video, as he directed her on how to hold on securely "without grabbing his ears in the process."

He then safely got her to the top, where he moved her away from the edge, and treated her scratched-up leg. Then they were helicoptered out.

"As you can see, this was an intense, technical rescue," a Riverside County Sheriff's Aviation crew spokesperson said over Instagram. "As you can see, they both had quite the adrenaline dump once on top!"

According to commenters, the woman had likely "taken a wrong turn off the trail, and braved a collapse." That portion of the Pacific Crest Trail is considered "difficult hiking." The Google map below shows her approximate location at the time of rescue.