MMSA AT FAULT FOR COLE MURPHY’S DEATH

Just months after citing Mammoth Mountain Ski Area for safety violations following the death of ski patroller Claire Murphy, Cal/OSHA has again cited the resort after another patroller, Cole Murphy, was killed in an avalanche this winter.

This time, the agency issued three citations carrying a total of $126,000 in fines – nearly five times the $26,810 Cal/OSHA imposed following Claire Murphy’s death, according to SFGate.

Cole Murphy died Dec. 27, 2025, after being buried in an avalanche at Mammoth Mountain a day earlier while performing avalanche mitigation. He was the second Mammoth ski patroller to die in an avalanche in less than a year.

On Feb. 14, 2025, 25-year-old ski patroller Claire Murphy, was buried in an avalanche after a storm and later died in a hospital from injuries sustained in the avalanche.

Following an investigation into Claire Murphy’s death, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) determined that Mammoth Mountain had failed to provide necessary safeguards for ski patrollers. The agency issued three citations carrying $26,810 in fines, according to SFGate.

Now, following Cole Murphy’s death, Cal/OSHA has issued three additional citations against Mammoth Mountain Ski Area LLC, with fines totaling $126,000, according to SFGate.

The largest fine, $90,000, stems from a finding of inadequate training to ensure ski patrollers could properly deploy avalanche airbags. Cal/OSHA classified the violation as “willful,” meaning the agency determined Mammoth knew the safety hazard existed, made no reasonable effort to eliminate it and committed an “intentional and knowing” workplace safety violation.

The other two citations, each carrying an $18,000 fine, involved communication failures and a failure to ensure no one was standing in an avalanche path before explosives were set off.

Cal/OSHA said Mammoth has corrected all three violations since Cole Murphy’s death.

In July, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area filed to contest the citations.