A 40-year-old Colorado lady is fortunate to be alive after she plunged 200 ft down a path in California’s San Gabriel Mountains throughout a Christmas Eve hike.

Ruth Woroniecki, of Thornton, had left her campground in Lytle Creek to hike as much as Cucamonga Peak and was making her approach again when she took the terrifying tumble, CBS Information reported.

“As Woroniecki hiked down the switchbacks, she slipped on ice and fell roughly 200 ft,” stated San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Division Cpl. Chris Mejia, in line with the outlet.

“She got here to relaxation on a fallen tree trunk and sustained accidents,” Mejia added.

One other hiker noticed the badly injured lady and contacted authorities with a GPS system.

Utilizing crampons and an ice axe, the hiker reached Woroniecki and stayed along with her together with different hikers till rescuers arrived to hoist her to security, Mejia stated.

“She appeared just a little dazed, confused, however very grateful we have been capable of get her off that mountain,” Deputy Doug Brimmer, who flew the rescue chopper, instructed CBS Information.

“She initially went ft first after which she hit her head on a log and she or he went unconscious. She woke as much as one other hiker serving to her out,” he added.

Woroniecki suffered a critical head harm and a fractured neck.

Officers stated Woroniecki was carrying tennis footwear and didn’t have ice-climbing tools on the perilous trek.

Her sister Sarah launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign to lift funds for her surgical procedure and describe the altruistic lady.

“Two days previous to the incident, Ruth organized an effort to assist the homeless on Skid Row. She acquired and assembled packets of blankets and necessities, meals, socks, gloves, and different gadgets,” she wrote.

“We distributed the packets and hung out as we frequently do world wide, bringing these things to people in want and sharing the love and compassion of Jesus with them,” she defined.

Sarah stated her sis “isn’t any unusual individual.”

“She is without doubt one of the kindest, most honest, and most loving individuals you’ll ever meet. She has devoted her life to serving to others and spends all of her time on this nation, or many third-world international locations, in orphanages, hospitals, on the streets, houses for the aged, juvenile detention facilities, and prisons,” she wrote.

Sarah additionally described Woroniecki as “a marathon runner, outside fanatic, and avid hiker. She likes to be within the mountains and forests, as all of us do, as typically as doable.”

She stated her sister “has hiked quite a few mountains, alone and along with her household, from the Rockies to the White Mountains all the way in which to the Andes. She is extraordinarily cautious and skilled.”

Sarah added that “looking back Ruth, clearly, deeply regrets climbing that morning and going within the snow in any respect. She stated it appeared secure on the time and she or he thought she had good traction.”

As she awaited surgical procedure, Woroniecki handed alongside a message reminding individuals to maintain their religion even in probably the most attempting instances. 

“I do know that God is such a great father that he has a plan by means of the ache,” she stated by means of her mother.

“To anybody else who’s struggling, name out to Jesus and he’ll enable you. I want to say a deep thanks from the underside of my coronary heart to the rescue crew and to the hikers who helped me and stayed with me,” Woroniecki added.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Division stated Woroniecki underwent her first surgical procedure on Tuesday and was in steady situation.

“She required dozens of stitches and staples to shut the laceration in her head, and neural-surgery to start repairing the injury to her backbone. She has an extended street forward of remedy and remedy,” it stated.