Photo: Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain is appealing the decision of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) which found the ski resort at fault for the death of ski patroller Claire Murphy in a 2025 avalanche. News of the agency’s decision was reported just last week by SFGate after an investigation into the accident that involved Murphy and her partner, and the resort was fined $26,810 for three violations related to the death.
Cal/OSHA determined that Mammoth put employees unnecessarily in harm’s way, without proper safeguards to keep them protected – and that this resulted in Murphy’s death. SFGate’s original report stated that the resort would not share any more details on the matter because it was concurrently being investigated for another ski patroller death from December 2025. However, on March 6, POWDER published another story with a short statement from the resort, claiming the decision by Cal/OSHA was inaccurate and that they are appealing the decision.
“Recent media coverage has suggested that the State of California (Cal/OSHA) has made definitive findings of fault against Mammoth Mountain. That characterization is inaccurate,” they said.
The statement went on to acknowledge Mammoth could not provide details on the incident itself, similar to SFGate’s reporting, and it stated that the agency’s decision is “not a legal finding of fact or fault.”
“Because the matter is currently under review through the formal appeals process, there have been no findings of fact and no final determinations of any regulatory violation. At this stage, it would be inappropriate to comment further on the details of the case. The safety of our guests and employees remains our highest priority, and we remain fully committed to complying with all applicable safety standards and working cooperatively with state regulators,” read the resort’s statement.
