Cal/OSHA issued Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, LLC, the company that owns and operates the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, three violations following an investigation into a 2025 avalanche that killed 30-year-old ski patroller Cole Murphy and left a second patroller seriously injured.

Investigators with the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health opened an investigation on Dec. 30, 2025, just days after the tragic incident.

Following a nearly six-month-long investigation, Mammoth was issued three violation citations.

The first citation was issued for an alleged willful violation, utilized when agency investigators find “that the employer committed an intentional and knowing violation, and [when] the employer is conscious of the fact that it constitutes a violation of a safety law…and made no reasonable effort to eliminate the condition.”

The resort allegedly failed to “assure that the employee was instructed and used protective equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions,” according to the code cited in the willful violation issued to the resort. Along with the citation, the resort was issued a $90,000 fine for this allegation.

The other two violations were both deemed as serious, which means the agency considers “that there is a realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm could result from the actual hazard created by the violation.”

According to the codes cited, the resort allegedly failed to maintain “constant communication during avalanche control activities” and allegedly failed to check the “runout zone for personnel, before attaching the igniter to a hand deployed charge” while conducting avalanche mitigation. Each of the serious violations carried an $18,000 fine.

All three violations are listed as having been corrected during the Cal/OSHA inspection, the agency reported.

Cal/OSHA confirms the resort contested all three violation items on July 22 and that the inspection record remains open.

NBC Los Angeles reached out to the resort for a comment on the investigation. It sent the following statement via email on Sunday:

“Mammoth Mountain has fully cooperated with the investigation and is participating in the legal process established to review the citations that were issued. Because the citations are currently being contested and related matters remain under active review, Mammoth Mountain is not able to comment on the specific allegations or factual assertions contained in those proceedings. We respect the investigative and legal process and believe those matters should be addressed through the established proceedings that are currently underway.”

Murphy, a 30-year-old Washington native, worked as a ski patroller in the ski area for five years. He died in an avalanche as he and another member of the ski patrol team were conducting avalanche mitigation on Lincoln Mountain, one of the ways Murphy helped protect those who visited the renowned ski area.

In a statement to NBCLA last year, Murphy’s brother, Drew, said he was doing what he loved in the mountains about 300 miles north of Los Angeles.

“Cole lived and dedicated his life for the people he loved and for the strangers who called Mammoth Mountain home,” his brother said. “He was a man defined by connection, love and a belief that his purpose was inseparable from the well-being of the community around him.

The second patroller involved in the accident underwent a successful surgery and is recovering from his injuries, according to Mammoth Resort.

Ski patrollers receive specialized medical and rescue training, making the backbone of any safety response on a mountain. The avalanche occurred as a storm powered by an atmospheric river over the Pacific brought several days of snow and rain to California.