A California ski patroller who died from injuries suffered during avalanche control work at a California ski resort last Friday was from Tacoma.
Cole Murphy, 30, was always proud to tell people he was from Tacoma, according to his family, which still lives in the area.
“He always wore Tacoma hats, Tacoma sweatshirts,” said Doug Andreassen, who raised Cole alongside his wife Tracy Murphy, Cole’s mom. “He followed the Seattle Sounders, other sports. People would say, ‘Hey, you’re from Seattle.’ He’d say, ‘No, I’m from Tacoma.’”
Murphy was one of two Mammoth Mountain resort patrollers caught in a slide while conducting avalanche mitigation about 7:30 a.m. Friday on Lincoln Mountain, according to The Sacramento Bee. Both were transported for medical care; Murphy died from his injuries over the weekend.
“Cole Murphy, 30, was an experienced patroller with a deep passion for the mountains and love for his career,” the resort said in a statement Sunday.
The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is east of San Francisco, near the California and Nevada border.
Murphy grew up in northeast Tacoma and graduated from Stadium High School in 2013. He played soccer at Stadium and grew up playing junior golf at North Shore Golf Club in northeast Tacoma, as well as other sports.
He loved the outdoors and winter sports. He bounced around as an adult, working at various ski resorts in Oregon, Wyoming and Montana before landing in California, where he worked on both winter and summer crews at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.
A statement from the family of Cole Murphy, following his death at Mammoth Mountain.
In a statement, Murphy’s family said he “moved through the world with kindness, intention and a wholehearted devotion to the life he chose.”
“The mountain was where Cole felt most alive,” the statement continues. “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.
“At the center of Cole’s heart was Hayley—his partner, his joy, his steady place in the world. Their love was built on adventure, laughter, and a connection that ran deep. She is forever a part of who he was, and always will be. Cole also held his family close, meeting life with an easy smile, a generous spirit, and a warmth that drew people in wherever he went.”
California ski patroller Cole Murphy, 30, died from injuries suffered during avalanche control work at a California ski resort last Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. He was from Tacoma, Washington.
Heavy snowfall from a Christmas Day storm forced Mammoth Mountain to close on Friday and Saturday due to elevated avalanche risk, according to The Sacramento Bee.
Murphy’s death comes during one of the most active avalanche periods in recent memory in the Sierra Nevada, following storms that had dropped more than 5 feet of snow since Christmas Eve.
Murphy’s family and friends, which include his longtime best friend Max Harvey and younger brother Drew Murphy, will be participating in a “Walk of Honor” at Renown Hospital in Reno, Nevada on Wednesday afternoon. Murphy was an organ donor.
