THE SHITTY WEEK THAT WAS
Published in the Jan. 3, 2026 issue.
Santa delivered nearly five feet of snow just before Christmas to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in less than 36 hours. Though forecast as a “Christmas miracle” for an otherwise dry early ski season, the storm instead brought a series of tragedies to the Eastern Sierra.
Avalanche at MMSA
On Friday, Dec. 26, at approximately 7:30 a.m., an avalanche occurred on Lincoln Mountain, ultimately killing MMSA patroller Cole Murphy.
Murphy and a colleague were conducting avalanche mitigation work on the slope when it slid, catching both patrollers. They were transported to Mammoth Hospital; Murphy was later life-flighted to Reno. His colleague was evaluated for possible broken bones.
At approximately 8:45 a.m., MMSA suspended operations for the day “due to high avalanche danger” and announced the incident publicly around 11:30 a.m.
On Sunday at 4 p.m., MMSA confirmed via social media that Murphy had died from his injuries.
“The mountain was where Cole felt most alive. It was his place of purpose, his community, and his second home,” Murphy’s family wrote in a memo, included in the announcement. Murphy was 30 years old.
At the time of Friday’s avalanche, the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center forecasted very dangerous conditions, stating that “natural and human-triggered avalanches remain likely.” The day prior, the center issued an avalanche warning for the area, advising recreationists to avoid being on or beneath slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
Friday’s incident mirrored another fatal avalanche on Lincoln Mountain earlier this year, when ski patroller Claire Murphy was killed after being caught in a slide during a major storm that dropped six feet of snow in 36 hours. (See p. 7 for The Sheet’s coverage of the February avalanche.)
Both deaths occurred under similar conditions: intense storms following prolonged dry periods. Mammoth Mountain recorded only 24 inches of snow in November, according to MMSA records. Ahead of the February avalanche, it logged just 10 inches in January.
The resort remained closed throughout Saturday, Dec. 27.
On Sunday, MMSA operated Chairs 4, 7, 8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 21, and the Village Gondola, confining holiday crowds to lower-angle terrain primarily at Eagle and Canyon lodges. The limited access resulted in long, standstill lift lines.
“The ski area is operating and we are expanding to additional lifts and terrain as conditions, available staffing, and safety allow,” wrote Joani Lynch MMSA Vice President of Marketing and Sales in an email to the Sheet.
MMSA did not offer a credit or discount for the combination of holiday crowds and post-storm work required to open more terrain. However, it did issue full refunds for the closure days (Dec. 26 and 27).
“While lift lines have been longer than usual, and in some cases below our standard, guests, the majority of whom are passholders, were able to access more trails each day, and we now have over 100 trails open,” Lynch wrote. “Ten days ago, while most guests were finalizing plans to visit, the resort had far less terrain open.”
Staffing was strained, Lynch explained, because there were several patrollers who elected to be at the hospital to support Cole’s family and each other.
“We intend to give them the time and space to do this. We have enough patrollers on site to operate the Ski Area safely,” she wrote.
On Monday, MMSA expanded operations, spinning Chairs 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 22, 25, and the Lower Panorama Gondola, reopening terrain at Main Lodge.
Skier Dies at MMSA
A local skier, Raymond John Albert Jr., 71, known as “Every Day Ray,” died Christmas Day, resort officials confirmed.
At approximately 12:45 p.m., Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol was dispatched to Chair 8 after receiving a report of an unconscious skier found upside down in deep snow off of the Hully Gully trail. Guests at the scene began working to unbury the skier before patrol arrived.
Ski patrol immediately initiated life-saving measures, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and administered shocks using an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Emergency care continued on scene until the skier was transported by ambulance to Mammoth Hospital, where the skier was pronounced dead.
Albert lived in a Mammoth condo for many years, then moved to Bishop before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patrick Bernard of Mammoth Lakes described Albert as a “Carpenter, greenthumb, good guy, loved America and Fox News … He drove up pretty much daily and lived up to his name ‘til the end.”
Avalanche in Bridgeport
On Saturday, a group of snowmobilers triggered an avalanche near Latopie Lake in Bridgeport, which buried and critically injured one person.
Around 11 a.m. Saturday, the Mono County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team received a call for a D3 avalanche near Latopie Lake. A D3 avalanche is considered “very large,”and runs the length of about 10 football fields (~3,000 ft).
Two helicopters were dispatched to the scene. A Battle Born Medevac helicopter out of Carson City, Nevada, arrived first and located one person who had been fully buried by the avalanche, according to the sheriff’s office. Other snowmobilers had already dug the person out, but the victim required immediate medical care and was airlifted to a trauma center in Reno.
Mono County Search and Rescue established a base at Bryant Field in Bridgeport and mobilized volunteers from across the county, including teams on powder-capable rescue sleds. A California Highway Patrol helicopter from Fresno also responded but was released after crews confirmed there were no additional injured or buried individuals.
Power Outage in North Mono County
June Lake and Bridgeport residents endured days without electricity over the Christmas holiday as prolonged power outages left many without heat, light, or essential services during freezing winter conditions.
The outages began Christmas Eve, affecting communities from June Lake north through Bridgeport, and continued through Monday, Dec. 29.
With no estimated restoration time provided for much of the outage, Mono County officials opened warming centers at the June Lake Community Center, Lee Vining Fire Hall, and Bridgeport Memorial Hall to provide heat, power, and shelter for residents in need.
Throughout the following days, the Mono County Sheriff’s Office issued morning and evening updates detailing fluctuating restoration efforts and shelter availability. While power was intermittently restored to some areas, large portions of June Lake and Bridgeport remained without electricity for several days.
On Saturday, county officials reported that most of June Lake and parts of Bridgeport were still without power, prompting the expansion of services at the June Lake Community Center from a warming center into a full overnight shelter offering meals and a warm place to sleep. The County continued to operate Bridgeport Memorial Hall as a warming center, and encouraged residents to contact county dispatch for sheltering assistance.
By Sunday morning, SCE restored power to some areas of June Lake, though the majority of the village remained dark without electricity, and Bridgeport saw no improvement. County officials kept both the June Lake shelter and the Bridgeport warming center open overnight as restoration work continued.
Mono County Supervisor Paul McFarland said the primary obstacle to restoring power in June Lake was extensive damage to the main distribution circuit feeding the village, including multiple downed power lines that prevented the area from being safely re-energized.
He explained that communities farther down the canyon were able to operate using hydroelectric power, but the June Lake Village itself remained isolated from energized “hot” circuits due to the damage.
Southern California Edison deployed additional contract crews and air support to assist with repairs, but McFarland said the utility was unable to provide a timeline for full restoration as work continued and system tests repeatedly failed.
Community frustration grew as the outage stretched into its fourth day.
June Lake resident Selene Stewart posted on Facebook calling the situation a serious safety issue and urging community members to speak out, and the post garnered hundreds of likes.
“At this point, the community needs to get involved,” Stewart wrote. “People need to speak up, throw up their arms, and get pissed — because this should never be allowed to happen in winter conditions like this. Silence and patience aren’t getting the lights back on.”
State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil acknowledged the situation in a statement, saying she was aware of the outages impacting residents across the June Lake and Bridgeport areas.
“Like you, I appreciate the tireless efforts of linemen and first responders working to restore power, and I share the community’s frustration with Southern California Edison’s communication challenges and outage reporting discrepancies,” she said.
When the Mono County Sheriff’s Department announced power had been restored to all of June Lake and Bridgeport Monday morning, the message carried cautious optimism rather than celebration.
“Let’s hope it sticks!” the department wrote.
