California ski patroller Cole Murphy, who died in avalanche, was from Tacoma
A California ski patroller who died from injuries sustained 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, who still live in the area.
“He always wore Tacoma hats, Tacoma sweatshirts,” said Doug Andreassen, who raised Cole alongside his wife Tracy Murphy, Cole’s mother. “He followed the Seattle Sounders and other sports. People would say, ‘Hey, you’re from Seattle.’ He was like, “No, I’m from Tacoma. »
Murphy was one of two Mammoth Mountain Station patrollers caught in a slide while conducting avalanche mitigation operations around 7:30 a.m. Friday on Lincoln Mountain, according to The Sacramento Bee. Both were transported for medical treatment; Murphy died from his injuries over the weekend.
“Cole Murphy, 30, was an experienced patrolman with a deep passion for the mountains and love of his career,” the resort said in a statement Sunday.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is east of San Francisco, near the California-Nevada border.
Murphy grew up in northeast Tacoma and graduated from Stadium High School in 2013. He played football 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 the winter and summer crews at 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 “traveled the world with kindness, intention and wholehearted dedication to the life he had chosen.”
“The mountain was where Cole felt most alive,” the statement continued. “It was his purpose, his community and his second home. Serving in the ski patrol was not just a role for him, it was a calling. To his ski patrol family, to those who worked alongside him, trusted in him and shared a bond shaped by snow, service and unwavering camaraderie: thank you for loving him like one of your own. This brotherhood meant more to him than words can ever express.
“At the center of Cole’s heart was Hayley, his partner, his joy, his stable place in the world. Their love was built on adventure, laughter and a deep connection. She is still a part of who he was, and always will be. Cole also held his family close, facing life with an easy smile, a generous spirit and a warmth that drew people wherever he went.”
California ski patroller Cole Murphy, 30, died from injuries sustained during avalanche control work at a California ski resort on Friday, December 26, 2025. He was from Tacoma, Washington.
Heavy snowfall from a Christmas Day storm forced Mammoth Mountain to close Friday and Saturday due to a high avalanche danger, 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 have dropped more than five feet of snow since Christmas Eve.
Murphy’s family and friends, including his longtime best friend Max Harvey and his younger brother Drew Murphy, will participate in a “Walk of Honor” at Renown Hospital in Reno, Nev., Wednesday afternoon. Murphy was an organ donor.
