Claire Murphy was conducting "avalanche mitigation" work on Valentine's Day when she and a colleague were caught in an avalanche. Ski resort officials announced her death Saturday.

A Mammoth Mountain ski patroller who was injured in an avalanche last week has died, according to the resort. On Saturday, Mammoth Mountain Resort said ski patroller Claire Murphy died Friday night after she was caught in an avalanche on Feb.

Murphy was doing avalanche mitigation with a team of ski patrollers on Lincoln Mountain — a dome peak within the Mammoth Mountain ski area — when an avalanche broke loose in an area known as the Avalanche (Avy) Chutes on Friday, Feb. 14. The accident occurred after approximately six feet of snow fell in 36 hours following a heavy Sierra snowstorm.

February 23, 2025 – Mammoth Mountain officials issue an update on Ski Patrol staff member who was injured in an avalanche on Lincoln Mountain earlier this month.

One of two Mammoth Mountain ski patrollers injured in an avalanche earlier this month has died from her injuries, Mammoth Resorts said. According to the ski resort, on Feb. 14 two ski patrollers performing avalanche mitigation work were caught in an avalanche on Lincoln Mountain.

Murphy was one of two ski patrollers swept away by an avalanche on Lincoln Mountain in the resort while doing avalanche mitigation following a heavy snowstorm, the resort said. It was closed to the public at the time. The second patroller was uninjured by the 11:30 a.m. avalanche, the resort said. Murphy was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Two Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol staff were buried in snow Friday after an avalanche came down on them during their mitigation work. The avalanche occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Lincoln Mountain. One of the two patrol members was recovered with no injuries,