US woman's incredible survival story after avalanche

Monday, 19 May 2025 07:53

Tiffany Slaton roused from unconsciousness to find she had two injured legs and her phone wasn't working.

A US woman who went missing for weeks in California's Sierra Nevada mountains said that she was trapped by an avalanche and survived off wild leeks and snowmelt before she was found this week in a snowy cabin.

Tiffany Slaton discussed her harrowing ordeal at a news conference alongside her parents and law enforcement officials, where she also recounted being immobilised by a steep fall.

"When I fell off of this cliff, I was unconscious for about two hours and did indeed need to splint one of my legs and popped the other knee back into place," Slaton said.

"From there, I couldn't actually get back onto the road, the main road was blocked because of the avalanche that I had been in."

Slaton said she tried calling 911 numerous times but was not successful. Her GPS worked, however, providing directions to the nearest Starbucks, a route Slaton said was a "long, arduous journey."

After about five days, she ran out of food. Slaton, who said she is a nutritionist, recalled that she staved off hunger with wild leeks and boiled snowmelt. She made tea out of manzanita and pine needles, she said.

"The [Sierra] has a large selection of leeks that is hard to find in other places," Slaton said.

"I managed to survive off of these leeks and boiling the snowmelt for a very long period of time."

Having originally set out for a camping trip, Slaton said she brought two sleeping bags and a tent. But she lost the tent and the sleeping bags at some point, leaving her with just a lighter and a knife.

"I'm pretty good at foraging, and nature is quite terrifying, so usually once you start finding things that are scary for you, you do your best to keep moving and get over it," she said.

The owner of Vermilion Valley Resort found her in a cabin on Wednesday. The following day, she celebrated her 28th birthday.

"That was the 13th heavy snowstorm I had been in," said Slaton, who also noted that she is an archery teacher and athlete.

"If he hadn't come that day, they would've found my body there."

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