Heavy Snow Triggers Fatal Avalanche in California

A veteran ski patroller at California's Mammoth Mountain has died after being caught in an avalanche while working to make the slopes safer. Resort officials on Sunday announced the death of 30-year-old Cole Murphy, describing him as an experienced member of the team who was injured Friday morning during avalanche control work on Lincoln Mountain, per KTLA. A second patroller was also seriously hurt; that person has not been publicly identified. Murphy was first taken to Mammoth Hospital and later transferred out of the area for additional treatment, but he did not survive. In a statement, his family said the mountain "was his place of purpose, his community, and his second home."

The accident followed an intense winter storm that dropped more than five feet of snow on Mammoth in just a few days, per the Los Angeles Times. That prompted the resort to shut down on Friday and Saturday for avalanche mitigation work, with which Murphy was involved. This is the second death on Lincoln Mountain in less than a year, per the Times. In a similar incident in February, two ski patrollers were caught in a slide after 6 feet of snow fell in just 36 hours, with 25-year-old Claire Murphy later succumbing to her injuries. Avalanche safety groups and the US Forest Service estimate that roughly 25 to 30 people are killed in avalanches each year in North America.