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Authorities pinpoint likely cause of 2 students’ deaths after plunge off mountainside
Two Colorado college students died while rappelling from West Apostle Mountain after the rock holding their shared anchor likely gave way, authorities said. The findings offer a likely explanation for the accident, while investigators say they found no obvious errors in the pair’s preparation.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found in a snow-filled basin after failing to return from a climbing trip. They had set out from Colorado Mountain College’s Leadville campus, initially planning to climb Ice Mountain. Autopsies found that both died instantly from multiple blunt force injuries; authorities said a severe snowstorm was not a direct cause.
In short
- A shared rappelling anchor likely failed.
- Both students died instantly from their injuries.
- Investigators found no obvious preparation mistakes.
Explained simply
West Apostle Mountain is a high peak in Colorado’s Sawatch Range, where steep rock and changing mountain weather can make climbing hazardous. Rappelling is a way to descend a rock face using a rope secured to an anchor, often attached to rock or other fixed points.
Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon were students at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville. They set out on a climbing trip and were later found in a snow-filled basin below the mountain.
The reported findings point to the rock supporting their shared rope anchor as a likely factor in the fall. Authorities said they found no obvious mistakes in the students’ preparation, and that the snowstorm was not a direct cause of their deaths.