Two College Students Die After Climbing Anchor Fails in Colorado

Two Colorado Mountain College students who went missing during an October hike in the Rockies died instantly after their climbing anchor catastrophically failed, an autopsy confirmed Tuesday, NBC News reported. Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of Queensbury, New York, “fell a substantial distance” while rappelling on Ice Mountain in Chaffee County when the anchor suffered what authorities called a “catastrophic failure of unknown cause.”

The autopsy, performed Nov. 2 in El Paso County at the request of the Chaffee County coroner, confirmed that both men died of multiple blunt force injuries, the Coloradoan reported. Officials said the deaths were instant, meaning neither young man suffered prolonged pain in the remote mountain terrain. The joint findings from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office were released Tuesday, bringing a measure of closure to a multi-day search that had drawn attention across Colorado.

Matsuda and Donlon were students at Colorado Mountain College’s Leadville Campus, and both were experienced climbers, according to friends and family who spoke with authorities. They left campus on Oct. 23 for a hike on Ice Mountain, telling loved ones they planned to return within a day or two. When they failed to come back, the college reported them missing to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 26, three days after they departed. Friends and family told investigators the pair were properly dressed for the backcountry and had shared a map of their intended route before heading out into the Sawatch Range.

Colorado Mountain College students killed after fall while rappelling, investigators say

Searchers Recovered Bodies Below West Apostle Mountain

Last week, searchers located Matsuda’s car and the tent the two men had brought with them, the sheriff’s office said. The tent had collapsed under the weight of approximately 2 feet of snow that had fallen on Ice Mountain around the time of their hike. On Oct. 28, several days after the initial report, authorities recovered the bodies of both students from a basin below West Apostle Mountain. The peak, located in the Sawatch Range within the central Rockies, stands at roughly 13,600 feet—about nine times higher than New York City’s Empire State Building, according to 14ers.com, a Colorado-based website dedicated to documenting the state’s mountain topography.

Authorities have not determined the exact distance they fell, only describing it as “substantial.” The cause of the anchor’s catastrophic failure remains unknown, leaving investigators to examine whether equipment malfunction, improper setup, or another factor led to the tragedy.

Trail or pathway leading to mount shavano in the southern sawatch range of the rocky mountains in colorado usa

Heavy Snow Was Not a Direct Contributing Factor

While a heavy snowstorm moved through Chaffee County during the weekend the men were hiking, officials said the weather did not play a direct contributing factor in their deaths. It remains unknown whether the storm had any negative impact on the incident, but the anchor failure stands as the primary cause, according to the joint statement from the sheriff’s and coroner’s offices.

Ice Mountain is considered a very technical climb that requires significant experience, particularly when conditions are dry, the sheriff’s office noted. The mountain’s reputation among Colorado climbers is well-established, and authorities emphasized that only highly experienced hikers should attempt to tackle the route.

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Sheriff Honors Two Young Men Who “Climbed” the World

Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich released a statement honoring the two students and offering what comfort he could to grieving families. “While their lives were far too short, they spent their final moments together surrounded by the majestic beauty of Chaffee County’s high peaks that they loved,” Rohrich said. “There is also relief knowing neither of them suffered.”

In a separate statement reported by the Coloradoan, Rohrich described the pair as young men who “lived life at the highest peaks chasing freedoms and panoramic views that most of us only see in pictures,” adding that he hopes their families find strength in the memories of their vibrant spirits. He closed with a tribute to the backcountry community: “There are no right words to family and friends for a loss this heavy,” he said. “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.”