Are any other players using PC (Windows 8) via Steam having very great difficulty getting through the Mountain Descent phase when Lara's parachuting through a tangled puzzle of trees!?  No matter how I press left-right keys on keyboard, she just keeps getting stabbed by branches and has to go weaving at high speed through this! Anyone have a "code" or detailed steps (or better yet, a way to skip over this frustrating scene!?

I recall just doing my best to avoid the trees best I could and eventually she semi-crashes and hard lands from a tree.

I have two ideas: One is to try turning down your graphics settings, even if it's just for QTEs and sequences like this where you need fairly precise button presses. It may help the computer recognize what you're doing and respond more quickly. If that fails, there are save files for all levels on my site at http://tombraiders.net/stella/savegame/TR9saves.html. The Mountan Descent level has only two files--one at the start and one after landing just outside Shantytown. Instructions are linked there, but if you have any questions I'm sure we can help you here.

Thanks, Tom and Stellalune, for your suggestions -- will try those and hopefully continue the game without any more thorny snags! 

Hi, Stellalune -- I tried the first (graphics settings) approach, but that didn't change anything, so I clicked on that link you showed me for "save files" --- when I try to use that link, I'm taken to "Winzip" to extract the file (but where does this file go in order to affect this part of the game?) I assume this link will take me past this parachuting episode and relocate me to the next "safe" level?!  Thanks again for your patience and help!

Hi again. The instructions for how to install saves are linked from the page with the downloads. Here's the direct link: 

http://tombraiders.net/stella/walks/TR9walk/savefiles.html

It's a lot of info, but the first part is just general stuff--what are save files, how do they work, etc.--so the actual instructions are in the numbered list below. If you have any questions, just give a shout.

Well, it happens that, finally, after a few more parachuting attempts, I landed (from the "frying pan into the fire" actually!)  So, the lesson learned is that persistence, practice and focus does bring the player forward in this game!  Still, good to know there are "shortcuts" and other ways to unravel the knots..................Enjoy game-playing and good luck to all!

Your walk through mentions a "Short Video" to help here, but I can't see where this is!!

I'm sorry about that. I had a javascript-based spoiler tag hiding the video but that didn't work very well (and not at all on mobile devices), so I just replaced it with a plain link. To save you the trouble of retracing your steps, here's the video:

https://youtu.be/HxPAfbmpfYQ