Family mourns ski patroller killed in Mammoth Mountain avalanche – NBC Los Angeles

Mammoth Mountain in the rugged and scenic Sierra Nevada range was where Cole Murphy found a job and place he loved, family members said.

The 30-year-old Washington native worked as a ski patroller in the ski area for the past five years. His step-father said it was the place he probably would have stayed for the rest of his career.

“He love it so much,” Doug Andreassen said Monday. “He cared for everybody. There wasn’t a person on the slopes he didn’t care about.”

In a tragic chain of events, Murphy died in an avalanche Friday as he and another member of the ski patrol team were conducting avalanche mitigation on Lincoln Mountain. The second patroller involved in the accident underwent a successful surgery and is recovering from his injuries, according to Mammoth Resort.

Ski patrollers receive specialized medical and rescue training, making the the backbone of any safety response on a mountain. The avalanche occurred as a storm powered by an atmospheric river over the Pacific brought several days of snow and rain to California.

Andreassen was at the hospital where the patrollers were transported after the sudden slide. He said dozens of colleagues visited the Reno hospital to pay their respects.

“I’m going to give you some words they said, and it tells you who Cole was,” Andreasson said. “He was hilarious. Uplighting, hardworking, genuine. He was a hero without being recognized. He didn’t want the recognition, yet he fit that as a hero.”

Andreassen said Murphy’s organs will be donated.

“That will give a little bit of Cole’s spirit out there to others,” he said.

In an earlier statement, family members said, “The mountain was where Cole felt most alive. It was his place of purpose, his community, and his second home. Serving on ski patrol wasn’t just a role for him—it was a calling. To his ski patrol family, the ones who worked beside him, had confidence in him, and shared a bond shaped by snow, service, and unwavering camaraderie: thank you for loving him as one of your own. That brotherhood meant more to him than words can ever express.”