almaguer. reporter: before first responders arrived in emergency vehicles, before firefighters unwound spools of rope to pull a rescue bucket up a hill through thick brush, the 64-year-old victim clung to a tree, suspended on a steep slope dangling 400 feet off a road, so exhausted from a battle with hypothermia, she could only utter a single word, help. she was in pretty bad shape. the fact that she was able to hold on the way she did just shows how much she wants to live. reporter: matthew stewart s mother gayle had gone hiking outside reno. when she didn t return, her son and his friends set out to find her. i heard some groaning, like someone was in pain. reporter: dominic la cota spotted stewart in the dark as temperatures plunged into the low 30s. do you think she would have survived the night? no, no. definitely not. reporter: 12 hours after her fall, rescuers finally