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‘Nothing short of a miracle’: Hiker survives 400-foot fall on Mount St. Helens

"I just survived something that should have killed me."

Brittany Fintel went for a hike on Mount St. Helens on Saturday that nearly killed her.

“I definitely underestimated the mountain, I underestimated my skills, and not needing an ice pick at the time,” she said.

Fintel is a Navy veteran who loves to hike with her service dog, Indy.

Credit: GoFundMe
Brittany Fintel with Indy

The two were nearly to the top of Mount St. Helens when she slipped.

"Literally, I could see the summit from where I was,” Fintel said.

She thought she was going to make it, but one wrong step sent her tumbling nearly 400 feet down the side of the mountain. She slammed into several rocks, hitting both her head and hip on the way down.

“Once I slipped, I thought I was dead,” Fintel said. “I thought that was pretty much the end of me.”

Related: Woman rescued after fall on Mount St. Helens

Thankfully, it was not. Shocked to be alive, Fintel called out for help. Her service dog Indy got to her first.

“He was the first on scene,” explained Fintel. “He pretty much helped me so I didn’t go into shock and everything; like licked my face, and you know my hand wounds and everything.”

A group of hikers witnessed her fall and rushed to help as well. One hiker just happened to be a nurse. Another hiker was a member of a search and rescue team on a different mountain. They knew exactly what to do and stopped the bleeding and called for help.

“Everything down to who rescued me, to Indy, you know, being amazing, it was pretty much nothing short of a miracle,” Fintel said.

Her rescuers waited with her for several hours until the Coast Guard arrived.

“It's definitely not like the movies, where you think the moment you call for help they'll be there in 30 minutes,” Fintel said. “It was more like five hours of just waiting and you know, hanging out with your rescuers.”

Fintel said being airlifted into the helicopter was almost just as scary as the fall.

“The fall was terrifying, but I broke down mostly with the ride up because I had a final destination moment where, I just survived something that should've killed me,” Fintel said.

She is now recovering with Indy in the hospital. She had a concussion, needed stitches, has a broken rib, and a small fracture on her spine. Recovery is expected to take six to eight weeks.

Fintel started a GoFundMe to help pay for her medical bills and the cost of taking care of Indy while she is in the hospital. She cannot take Indy on walks, so she hired a dog walker.

Despite what happened, Fintel said she plans to one day hike Mount St. Helens again.

"This isn't really going to slow me down,” Fintel said.

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