A woman is recovering after falling 60 feet from a mountain while trying to save her dog.
Margaux Cohen, 36, was hiking Tricouni Peak in Canada with her dog Zion, her friend Max Stobbe, and Stobbe’s cousin on Aug. 24 when they went off the trail, according to Global News and The Squamish Chief.
While looking at a trail map, Cohen told Global News that she and her group “saw that the trail was just across a little wall.”
“We assessed the situation. ‘The wall, can we down-climb it? Is it hard or anything?'” she said. “We decided that it was a pretty easy down-climb compared to things I usually do.”
Cohen said Stobbe went over first, and she followed second. But while crossing the wall, she told the Chief that Zion “slipped, lost his footing in a way, and he just started sliding down.”
“I had this instinct to just grab his harness,” Cohen said. “But I did not realize that by doing this, and because of his weight, I was just going to fall.”
The hiker said she fell 60 feet, though “it wasn’t a straight fall.”
“I tumbled down like, four times. So I probably fell 20 feet, and then hit my face on rocks, and then fell again and again and again,” she told the Chief.
Cohen stayed conscious during the fall. She told Global News she “would have preferred” to lose consciousness because she remembers everything. She injured her leg and had swelling and bleeding on her face.
When she looked at her leg, Cohen said she realized something was “really wrong” because it wasn’t “the right shape anymore.”
After hearing her screams, Stobbe came to help and called 911. Even though Cohen was hurt, her dog seemed fine.
“My dog was like, sitting next to me, just wagging his tail, like nothing happened, like he just had the time of his life,” Cohen said about Zion, who hurt his paw but was otherwise okay.
Squamish Search and Rescue reached Cohen two hours later, and she was airlifted to the hospital for two surgeries, the Chief reported.
PEOPLE has contacted Squamish Search and Rescue for more information.
Cohen said she felt grateful for her friend’s help and for the rescue team.
“I just believe that someone was watching over me that day,” she told Global News.
She added, “I’m obviously really grateful for Search and Rescue as well because I think they always do an amazing job. I love Search and Rescue — I’ve been watching their series online and I love what they do. I would love one day to be part of Search and Rescue myself.”
Cohen’s friend Emily Kasal started a GoFundMe to help with medical and veterinary bills.
“Margaux is one of the most kindhearted, adventurous, and resilient people I know,” Kasal wrote. “She has always been there to support others, and now she needs our help. Any donation, no matter the size, will make a huge difference for her and her furry best friend.”
