Side-by-side portraits of Colorado Mountain College students Kaden Matsuda, left, wearing a gray jacket, and Jackson Donlon

Anchor Failure Caused Death of Two Climbers on West Apostle Mountain

by

Two Colorado Mountain College students died after a climbing anchor failed during their descent of West Apostle Mountain, not a blizzard as initially suspected, according to a joint report from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office. Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, fell to their deaths on October 23 after an anchor system suffered a catastrophic failure, investigators confirmed on November 3.

Anchor Failure Causes Fatal Fall

The students were descending the 13,597-foot peak when the anchor failed. Donlon was rappelling using a rope secured to the anchor, while Matsuda was clipped into the same system through his personal anchor device. The setup included two backups—a piton and a second rock anchor—but these did not prevent the failure. The climbers died instantly from multiple blunt force injuries. Their bodies were discovered on October 28 in a snow-filled basin below the mountain and recovered by helicopter the following day.

Storm Ruled Out as a Factor

While a powerful early-season snowstorm complicated the search efforts, investigators have ruled out weather as a direct cause of the deaths. There are no right words to family and friends for a loss this heavy, Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in the statement. Know that whenever we explore our backcountry in the future we will think of them as young men who didn’t just look at the world; they climbed it.

Praised for Preparedness

Sheriff Rohrich praised the students’ preparedness, noting that his staff found no obvious mistakes in their gear or actions. Kaden and Jackson will certainly be remembered by my staff as an example to others of what preparation looks like, Rohrich said. In most similar cases that have led to a devastating conclusion we find it easy to pick apart what was done wrong. That was not the case with Kaden and Jackson. Authorities have not determined why the anchor failed or the exact distance of the fall. Read the full report at Outside Online.

More on West Apostle Mountain

Two Missing Colorado College Students Found Dead on West Apostle Mountain
Colorado College Students' Deaths Explained After Rappelling Anchor Failure

More on this

Read next