Snow blindness and cliff fall: Tiffany Slaton’s harrowing tale of survival
Tiffany Slaton sustained snow blindness after encountering several snow storms during her weekslong fight for survival after she went missing in the Sierra Nevada of Central California.
Slaton was reported missing by her parents April 29 after they had not heard from her since April 20. Slaton had gone to the mountains of Fresno County on an electric bicycle with a trailer and camping gear and planned to visit Mono Hot Springs, a spot off Kaiser Pass Road about seven miles from Lake Edison.
Slaton fell off a cliff on Kaiser Pass heading to Mono Hot Springs as she tried to search for help. The fall left her unconscious for two hours.
“I’ll never do a real vacation longer than three days ever again,” she said.
That was not all.
She said she had to splint one of her legs and “pop the other knee back into place.”
Slaton said she couldn’t get back on the road because the main road was blocked due to an avalanche. She said she attempted to call 911 five times. One of the closest businesses from where she went missing was a Starbucks about 18 miles away.
“I ended up on this very long arduous journey that I journaled to try and keep sane,” she said. “And eventually managed to get to civilization. I ran out of food after five days.”
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Slaton, who celebrated her 28th birthday on Thursday, was found at Lake Edison in eastern Fresno County after an owner of Vermilion Valley Resort checked on his property near the lake and found one of the cabins occupied by Slaton.
The owner knew of the ongoing search for Slaton, who’s from Jeffersonville, Georgia, and her description. He then called deputies.
Deputies traveled to Kaiser Pass Road and met with the owner, who had driven Slaton out to the staging point.
Her parents, Bobby and Fredrina, reunited with their daughter Thursday.
Tiffany Slaton said she didn’t want to panic during dire situations. She remained calm.
“The worst thing that you can do in an emergency situation is panic,” she said. “I’m a traveling dialysis technician and an archery coach by trade. I didn’t want to panic. In the first five days, I was still ready for my vacation.
“I had some of Fresno’s best citrus, which is funny because I’m kind of allergic to it, but I did have food to begin with. I’m a trained permaculturalist. That means I’m very good at foraging and helping people not to go to the grocery store in very rural areas, and the Sierra’s has a large selection of leeks that is hard to find in other places.”
According to the Food Network, leeks are a bulbous, elongated vegetable within the Allium family, closely related to onions, garlic, and scallions.
“I managed to survive off of these leeks and boiling the snow melt for a very long period of time.
During the time she was missing, Slaton said she lost her tent and vestibule, as well as her sleeping bags.
“I was outside with nothing but a lighter and a knife,” she said.
Slaton said she saw mountain goats, coyotes and bears. She didn’t panic when she saw the animals, but instead kept walking.
The last sighting of Slaton was April 20 when a camera at Huntington Lake captured her.
There had been no confirmed sightings since then, deputies said.
Until Wednesday.
Slaton said she’s thankful for the Vermillion Resort for giving her an opportunity to live. She was only there eight hours before being found.
“I would not be here at that moment because that was the 13th heavy snowstorm I had been in,” she said.
“It was going to be the last one. If he hadn’t come that day, they would have found my body there.”
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This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 3:51 PM.
