17-05-2025
Missing camper explains how she survived 3 weeks lost in Sierra Nevada
The Brief
Tiffany Slaton, of Georgia, recounted how she survived three weeks injured and lost in the Sierra.
The 27-year-old was located on May 14 after disappearing on a solo camping trip,
She endured harsh and snow conditions.
FRESNO, Calif. - The survival story of a missing camper who spent nearly three weeks lost in the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains has stunned even the most experienced rescuers.
What we know
The tale of Tiffany Slaton, which includes battling blizzards, injury, hunger, and isolation, is one reminiscent of the competition game shows Survivor or Alone.
Though the 27-year-old's story isn't Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said, it's an "incredible story of perseverance, determination and survival."Slaton, of Jeffersonville, Georgia, had been on a solo camping trip through the Sierra National Forest, part of a "bucket list" adventure before setting off to medical school.
Her journey began April 14 in the Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake areas. She traveled by electric bike with basic gear, including two sleeping bags and a tent.
She made it as far as Kaiser Pass, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, and also passed through the Edison Lake and Golden Lake areas.
At one point, Slaton fell off the side of a mountain. She later told reporters at a news conference on Friday she was unconscious for nearly two hours. She said she had to splint one leg and pop the other back into place herself.
"Thinking of going over Kaiser Pass, and there is somewhere between 10 and 12 feet of snow. The road hadn't even been plowed yet at the time that she went over," Zanoni said.
Slaton ultimately had to abandon her electric bike at the trailhead for Hopkins Lake.
An avalanche blocked the road, and though she tried calling 911 repeatedly, the calls didn't go through. Her GPS suggested the nearest Starbucks was 18 miles away — closer than the nearest trail entrance.
That's when the most intense phase of her survival began.
Dig deeper
She endured dehydration, hunger, extreme sun exposure that damaged her eyes, and brutal snowstorms — all while suffering from Ballerina Syndrome, a rare condition that prevents her from keeping her heels on the ground.
She ran out of most of her food within five days.
Her family last heard from her on April 20 and reported her missing on April 29. Search crews began a massive effort, covering 600 square miles between May 6 and 10.
What they're saying
"I managed to survive off of these leeks and boiling the snowmelt for a very long period of time," Slaton said.
A traveling dialysis technician, archery coach, and permaculturist, Slaton attributes her survival to both her physical conditioning and life skills she learned growing up on her family's small farm in Georgia.
She was finally found on May 15 by Christopher Gutierrez and his employees at the Vermilion Valley Resort near Mono Hot Springs. The resort had been snowed in, but once roads were cleared that day, Gutierrez visited the property to begin summer preparations.
During the check, they noticed a door open at one of the rentals, known as the Boat House.
"I see some shoes down there, and I'm like, okay, well, it's just a hiker who decided to hold up in the blizzard that we had that previous night and so as soon as we start making our way there, here comes Tiffany pops out deer in the headlights," Gutierrez shared in a news conference on Wednesday.
He recounted the powerful moment she saw him and his workers. "Didn't say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug," the resort owner shared, "And it was a pretty surreal moment."
Slaton told reporters that if Gutierrez hadn't found her when he did, she would have been dead after enduring 13 grueling snowstorms.
"I would not be here," she said. "It was going to be the last one if he hadn't have come that day. They would have found my body there."
Gutierrez drove Slaton to a staging area, where deputies met her.
Despite surviving an avalanche, two landslides, and more than a dozen heavy snowstorms, Slaton's injuries were limited to small cuts, burns, and eye damage from sun exposure.
"Nothing that I don't think time will be able to heal," she said.
At the back of her mind throughout the ordeal was one goal: to get back to her family in time for her birthday. She was found on May 14 — and the next day, her actual birthday, she was reunited with her family in California.
The Source
Information for this story came from the Fresno County Sheriff's Office and Tiffany Slaton.
