By Erika I. Ritchie
The Orange County Register
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. — A ski patroller caught in a Mammoth Mountain avalanche and then taken to a Nevada hospital has died, Mammoth Mountain officials said Saturday.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patroller, Claire Murphy, who was hospitalized last Friday pand assed away as a result of her injuries,” a statement from the mountain issued late Saturday, Feb. 22, said.
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.
Lincoln, which has steep chutes, rock bands and tree-skiing, was closed off to the public when the snow broke loose.
Murphy and another ski patroller were caught in the cascading snow. Numerous Mammoth Mountain ski patrollers were on site immediately to assist with rescue efforts, using beacon technology to locate the individuals, Mammoth officials said.
One patroller was recovered at the scene uninjured and Murphy — who mountain officials described as being in “serious” condition — was taken to Mammoth Hospital and later flown out to a Reno, Nevada trauma center.
The following day, on Saturday, Feb. 15, a post from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol Alumni Association described her condition as “extremely” critical.
Since then, ski patrollers and those who previously worked the mountain have reached out to ask for support for her, her family, her boyfriend, and fellow Mammoth Mountain patrollers.
This week, patrollers from other resorts such as Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, Snow Valley, Alpine Meadows, Palisades at Tahoe and Winter Park Colorado, helped work the mountain.
No further information on Murphy’s injuries or where she is from has been released. There was also no information on when she died.
Mammoth Mountain is a popular resort in the Eastern Sierra that is about a six-hour drive from Orange County.
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