Two Missing College Climbers Fell After Mountain Anchor Broke
WHO:
NY Post - Jackson Donlon, 20, was a Colorado Mountain College Leadville student and a native of Upstate New York.
NY Post - Kaden Matsuda, 19, was a Colorado Mountain College Leadville student.
ABC News - Matsuda was from Ridgway, Colorado, and was studying to become a wildland firefighter.
ABC News - Donlon was from Queensbury, New York, and was studying outdoor recreation leadership; he was an avid climber and skier.
ABC News - Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich commented on the accident and the students’ preparation.
ABC News - Colorado Mountain College operates campuses throughout the Colorado Rockies and offers programs including mountaineering, ski patrol, and guiding careers.
WHAT:
NY Post - Donlon and Matsuda fell a “substantial distance” and landed in a mountain basin after a “catastrophic failure” while rappelling.
ABC News - An autopsy found that both students died instantly from multiple blunt force injuries.
ABC News - Officials said the exact distance they fell was unknown.
ABC News - 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.”
ABC News - Rohrich said, “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,” adding that there was relief knowing neither suffered.
ABC News - The students became fast friends at the Leadville campus.
WHERE:
ABC News - Their bodies were found in a snow-filled basin on West Apostle Mountain, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Aspen.
ABC News - The pair departed from Colorado Mountain College’s Leadville campus. Leadville is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Denver, has about 2,600 residents, and sits at 10,119 feet (3,084 meters) above sea level.
ABC News - The students initially aimed for Ice Mountain, a 13,958-foot (4,254-meter) peak, but appeared to switch to West Apostle Mountain, which is 13,597 feet (4,144 meters) high.
WHY:
ABC News - Officials did not know why the climbing anchor failed.
ABC News - Authorities said a heavy snowstorm was not a direct factor in the anchor failure.
HOW:
ABC News - Donlon was beginning to rappel from a rock anchor when it suffered a “catastrophic failure.” The anchor was backed up by a metal spike in the rock and a secondary anchor; Matsuda was attached to the same anchor points.
ABC News - It was raining when the students began hiking, and a later severe storm dumped up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of snow.
NBC News - Authorities said the students went missing on a hike in central Colorado and fell to their deaths following a “catastrophic failure” while rappelling.
(UPDATED November 4, 2026 17:07 UTC)
Two Colorado college students died after their rappelling anchor catastrophically failed on West Apostle Mountain. Jackson Donlon and Kaden Matsuda fell into a basin; officials don’t know why the anchor failed. Authorities said a later snowstorm wasn’t a direct factor.