My remarks : \
1) 80Km/h . I do not know of any PA28 which has a metric IAS, most likely it was 80 MPH , which would be consistant with an attempt to climb.
2) Engine lost power : Wind a 9000 ft on that perticular day / time and relation to the terrain would give us a clue . My guess , engine was fine , a downdraft just exceding the performance of the aircraft to keep level, let alone to climb over the terrain .
3) She knew the area well : In winter ? In the mountains flying in late evening with no wind in the Summer for instance will not give you any winter windy experience at all.
4) Overall Experience, : learning to fly in Florida and exercising its priviledges in the wnter in Europe has never been a good combination .
5) She should teach mountain flying : yes, but after following an isntructor course and obtaining a mountain rating.
That said, she was lucky, she did very well on the slope landing and save her and her pax. But treating her as a hero ?