Two Colorado college students who vanished during a mountain climb died instantly after a rappelling anchor suffered what authorities called a “catastrophic failure,” the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
Jackson Donlon, 20, a native of Queensbury, New York, and Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, were found dead in a mountain basin five days after leaving Colorado Mountain College Leadville to scale Ice Mountain, a peak nearing 14,000 feet. Both were experienced outdoorsmen, according to authorities.
The sheriff’s office detailed the mechanical breakdown in a Tuesday update. Donlon was “beginning to rappel from a primary anchor point on a rock substrate,” the office said. “That anchor appears to have been backed up by a piton and a secondary anchor made of rock substrate.”
“[Matsuda] was attached via his personal anchor device to the same anchor points as well as the primary anchor point,” the sheriff’s office continued. “The anchor had a catastrophic failure of unknown cause. Both then fell a substantial distance.”
The office stressed that the “exact distance” the pair plummeted remains unknown.
Autopsy results confirmed both young men died of multiple blunt force injuries. “Their deaths were instant,” the sheriff’s office said. “Neither of them suffered.”
The students were known to have encountered severe weather during their expedition. A heavy snowstorm swept through the area while they were on Ice Mountain, though investigators determined it was not directly responsible for the fatal plunge. “It is unknown if the heavy snowstorm had a negative impact leading to the incident, but it did not play a direct contributing factor in their death,” the sheriff’s office said.
Before the bodies were discovered, search teams located the hikers’ tent collapsed beneath accumulated snow. Inside, sleeping bags, a stove and clothing remained, but there was no trace of Donlon or Matsuda. Matsuda’s vehicle was found parked at a nearby trailhead with approximately eight inches of snow surrounding it.
Matsuda, an aspiring firefighter, and Donlon had set out from campus with the goal of conquering the formidable peak. The search for the pair lasted nearly a week before their remains were located in the remote basin where the failed anchor had sent them falling.
The sheriff’s office closed its statement with a tribute to the fallen climbers. “Kaden and Jackson lived life at the highest peaks chasing freedoms and panoramic views that most of us only see in pictures,” the office shared. “We hope their families and friends find strength in the memories of their vibrant spirits.”
“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,” the office added. “There is also relief knowing neither of them suffered.”