A woman miraculously found alive after going missing in a snowy Californian wilderness for more than two weeks during a solo camping trip credited archery skills honed in Bermuda for helping her survive.

Tiffany Slaton, who described herself as Bermudian-American, was discovered alive and well in a cabin at a remote resort on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old revealed to reporters how she survived more than a dozen snow storms, an avalanche and two landslides at a press conference hosted by Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

She also recalled how she fell off the side of a mountain and had to splint her own leg.

Ms Slaton said: “If it wasn’t for my skills in archery and the experience I had in Bermuda in order to compete, I don’t think I would have been able to walk as many miles a day as I did.”

Ms Slaton had embarked on her solo expedition last month through the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Her family had reported her missing on April 29 after getting no word from her for nine days.

The sheriff’s office swung into action and launched a search of the snowy wilderness for the camper.

Ms Slaton was spotted by a camera at Huntington Lake on April 20. A reported sighting near the old Cressman’s General Store on April 24 turned out to be in error.

Teams combed the Sierra Nevada between May 6 and 10, a search area covering approximately 600 square miles of rugged, remote territory.

She was found on Wednesday afternoon just after officials, with no valid leads, reluctantly scaled back the hunt.

Ms Slaton was discovered at the remote Vermilion Valley Resort by its owner when he went checking on his snowbound property.

She said that when she fell off the cliff, she lost consciousness for several hours and injured her legs. When she came to, she splinted her leg and “popped the other knee back into place”.

The road along the area was blocked with heavy snow and several times she dialled 911 but could not get through.

She then tried to find help using functions on her GPS device — but all she received was information on a Starbucks location 18 miles away.

She added: “I ended up on this long arduous journey that I journalled to try and keep sane.”

Her ordeal was compounded by running out of food after five days.

Ms Slaton, a travelling dialysis technician and archery coach by profession, said she tried her best not to panic.

She said she was trained in foraging and living off the land.

She added: “The sierras has a large selection of leeks that’s hard to find in other places, and I managed to survive off these leeks and boiling the snowmelt for a very long period of time.”

She recounted how, in fighting the elements, she lost her tent, camping equipment and her two sleeping bags.

“So I was outside with nothing but a lighter and a knife,” she said.

Ms Slaton, who has two younger brothers, said she was confident that she was mentally prepared to take on her dilemma.

She credited finding the resort for her survival.

She recalled battling several snowstorms along the way, including one just before she managed to find the cabin.

She said: “Without Vermilion Resort, I would not be here at this moment because that was the thirteenth heavy snowstorm I had been in — and it was going to be the last one.

“If he [Christopher Michael Gutierrez, the resort owner] hadn’t come that day, they would have found my body there.”

She said after being treated, her bloodwork came out perfect but she had sustained multiple cuts, burns and eye damage from exposure to the snow and piercing sun.

While out in the wilderness, Ms Slaton said her goal became simply finding “some sort of building” before May 13, two days before her birthday.

She recalled how in the last days before her discovery, she had only three cookies and some syrup remaining in her bag.

Ms Slaton, who represented Bermuda at archery in 2017, said: “While it may not look like it, I am a pre-Olympian for archery.

“In an archery session for two hours, we walk the equivalent of five miles and lift the equivalent of two tonnes.”

She noted that her body “is indeed an athlete’s”.

In a message to Bermuda on Friday, Ms Slaton said: “I will be back for archery quite soon.

“I do hope that you’re looking forward to seeing me.”

Asked if she would go on another camping trip, she said she would venture out if it benefited her family’s wellbeing, such as in a television show.

Fresno County sheriff John Zanoni called Ms Slaton’s harrowing journey back to safety a story of “perseverance and determination” driven by the belief that she would eventually be found.

He said it was “an incredible story, a heroic story, something that you may see on TV, that they would make movies about”.

Mr Zanoni said a lucky combination of factors contributed to finding Ms Slaton.

He added: “For that to all come together on that day is truly a miracle.

“You have to believe that God had a hand in saving Tiffany, getting her home and getting her here with us today.”

Her father, Bobby Slaton, who spoke next to his wife, Fredrina, said his family were always “outdoor people” and told how his daughter had been exposed to the environment at the family’s farm in Georgia.

Mrs Slaton said she was euphoric when she heard her daughter had been found.

“It was the most joyous occasion that any mother could have,” she said.

She thanked everyone who helped in the search.

Mrs Slaton added: “Everybody in the community showed us a ray of sunshine when I couldn’t see it at all.”