On Valentine's Day, two Mammoth Mountain ski patrollers were caught in an avalanche in the Avy Chutes area of the resort.

Mammoth Mountain officials said the slide occurred during avalanche mitigation work following a significant Sierra Nevada snowstorm, during which about six feet of snow fell in 36 hours.

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.