Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon Died in Climbing Equipment Failure

Equipment failure caused the deaths of two Colorado college students, autopsy reveals

The deaths of two Colorado Mountain College students were caused by catastrophic equipment failure during a climb, rather than the severe weather that initially complicated search efforts, according to a joint statement from the Chaffee County Sheriff and Coroner’s Offices. The autopsy findings clarify the circumstances surrounding the passing of Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of Queensbury, N.Y., whose bodies were located on Oct. 28 at the base of West Apostle Mountain.

While a heavy snowstorm had recently moved through the region, dropping as much as two feet of snow at higher elevations, officials confirmed the weather was not a direct contributing factor to the incident. Instead, the investigation centered on a sudden mechanical failure at a critical climbing juncture.

Two college students went hiking in Colorado. Five days later, their families are still waiting for them to come home. Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, set out on Friday, October 23, for a hike near Ice Mountain in Colorado. They never returned. Kaden, from Ridgway,… pic.twitter.com/XBP5TXY6bO

— https://x.com/WolfprwX/status/2115828297246310612

According to the official report released by the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred while the pair was navigating a rock substrate. Jackson Donlon was in the process of beginning a rappel from a primary anchor point. This anchor had been reinforced with a piton and a secondary anchor made of rock. Kaden Matsuda was also attached to these same points via his personal anchor device. The investigation determined that the anchor underwent a catastrophic failure of unknown cause, resulting in both men falling a substantial distance.

The autopsy, conducted in El Paso County, showed that both men died from multiple blunt force injuries. The coroner’s office stated that the deaths were instant.

The timeline of the search and recovery

The search for the two students began after they failed to return from a hiking trip in the Ice Mountain area that started on Oct. 23. They were expected to return that following Sunday, but when they did not, college staff reported them missing on Oct. 26. Following the report, search teams worked through challenging conditions to locate the pair.

Rescuers first discovered the men’s tent near Lake Ann, which still contained their sleeping bags, stove, and clothing. The bodies were eventually found approximately one mile away, located in a basin on West Apostle Mountain. As Colorado Sun reported, the discovery of the bodies occurred on Oct. 28.

Sheriff Andy Rohrich addressed the community following the conclusion of the investigation, noting that the tragedy was not the result of poor preparation. In many backcountry fatalities, investigators find clear errors in judgment or safety protocols, but Rohrich indicated that was not the case for Matsuda and Donlon.

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“Kaden and Jackson will certainly be remembered by my staff as an example of what preparation looks like. 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.”

The Sheriff’s Office also expressed a sense of somber relief that the men did not suffer during the fall. In the official release, Rohrich described the two as young men who “didn’t just look at the world; they climbed it.”

The investigation remains focused on the specific nature of the anchor failure, though the exact mechanism that caused the sudden collapse of the primary and secondary systems remains unknown. For the families and the climbing community, the focus remains on the loss of two vibrant lives lost while pursuing the high peaks of Chaffee County.