Ruth Woroniecki, 40, poses in April 2021 after hiking in Aspen, Colo. On Christmas Eve morning 2023, Woroniecki hiked to the summit of Cucamonga Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains outside of Los Angeles. On her descent, she slipped and fell nearly 200 feet. Woroniecki survived with cuts to her face and hands. A gash in her head was down to the bone, according to the hikers who happened upon her. Woroniecki didn’t know it at the time, but she had also broken two vertebrae in her neck.

Ruth Woroniecki / via Los Angeles Times

Ruth Woroniecki, 40, poses in April 2021 after hiking in Aspen, Colo. On Christmas Eve morning 2023, Woroniecki hiked to the summit of Cucamonga Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains outside of Los Angeles. On her descent, she slipped and fell nearly 200 feet. Woroniecki survived with cuts to her face and hands. A gash in her head was down to the bone, according to the hikers who happened upon her. Woroniecki didn’t know it at the time, but she had also broken two vertebrae in her neck.