Hood release cable

On my son's 92, pulling the hood release won't open the hood. the cable is not broken.
I know they stretch out over time. He is in VA and its very cold and his battery died overnight so the car won't start and can't get the hood open.

So folks, how to get it open? I suggested that he grab the cable in the car with vice grips (how I got one to open once) but is there another way?????????

Thanks in advance.

There are a couple of techniques. First try banging on the hood at the hood ornament while someone pulls the release. Second, you can remove the grille for access to the latch. You need a bent pick to hit the release lever from the top. You may also be able to slip the cable shroud off of the latch assembly, and pull on the cable if it is not moving far enough. If the cable has stretched, you can put a small split shot sinker over the end of the cable, and crimp it to the cable.

Thanks, He got it open by taking off the grille. I went home after work and took a good pic of the latch on my car so he could see what he needed to pull/how it operated.