Bodies of 2 Colorado students and aspiring outdoorsmen are recovered
after they died on hiking trip
[October 30, 2026]
By GENE JOHNSON and WUFEI YU
The bodies of two Colorado college students who died during a weekend
hiking trip were recovered by helicopter Thursday after gusty winds
delayed efforts to bring them down, police said.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found Wednesday in a
snow-filled basin of West Apostle Mountain. Ground crews helped recover
their bodies around 1 p.m. the following day, the Chaffee County
Sheriff’s Office reported.
Matsuda and Donlon set out last Friday from Colorado Mountain College’s
Leadville campus for what was supposed to be a weekend trip to Ice
Mountain, a 13,958-foot (4,254-meter) peak, and went missing.
It was raining when they started hiking, according to the Chaffee County
Sheriff’s Office, and despite a break in the weather Saturday morning, a
severe storm arrived that afternoon, dumping up to 2 feet (0.6 meters)
of snow.
They were expected back by Sunday, but college staff reported them
missing Monday morning, and their bodies were ultimately located in a
basin of West Apostle Mountain, about 100 miles (160 kilometers)
southeast of Aspen.
The bodies were taken to the coroner’s office, with autopsies scheduled
for Monday.
“They came here to learn, to explore and to build their futures,” Ben
Cairns, the school's campus dean, said in a statement. “Their lives were
full of promise, and their loss is felt deeply by the students, faculty
and staff who knew them.”
The hikers were outdoor enthusiasts
Colorado Mountain College, which has campuses throughout the Colorado
Rockies, is known for its programs focusing on the state's robust
outdoor recreation economy, including mountaineering, ski patrol and
guiding careers.
Matsuda, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Donlon, of Queensbury, New York,
became fast friends at the small campus in Leadville, which bills itself
as America’s highest city at 10,119 feet (3,084 meters) above sea level.
Located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Denver, the city is
home to about 2,600 people and is flanked by some of Colorado’s tallest
mountains.
Matsuda was studying to be a wildland firefighter. Classmates and
faculty members described him as kind, intelligent and welcoming, the
statement from the college said. Donlon, an avid climber and skier, was
studying outdoor recreation leadership and had come to Colorado to
pursue his love of the mountains.
Ski or Die NY, a group of upstate New York skiers, called Donlon "one of
the most ambitious skiers on the East Coast.” It said on its website
that he became the youngest person to complete a strenuous 28-mile
(45-kilometer) ski tour in the area’s High Peaks last December.
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This photo provided by Colorado Mountain College on Thursday, Oct.
29, 2026, shows an aerial view of the college's Leadville campus
near the Colorado Rockies in Lake County, Colo., Feb. 27, 2025.
(Benjamin Suddendorf/Colorado Mountain College via AP) ADDITION:
date of photo is Feb. 27, 2025.
“He lived life with a passion that was contagious, embodying
everything we love about skiing in New York,” the group posted on
social media. “He was a friend, an adventurer, and someone who was
always hungry for what was next.”
Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich credited Matsuda and Donlon with
being capable, strong and prepared, saying in a social media post,
“Almost all the safety measures we tell backcountry explorers to
use, these men did.”
“We are proud of these young men concerning how prepared they were,
but sometimes mother nature throws you a curveball,” he said.
Weather can be changeable in Colorado's mountains
Jason Marsteiner, the founder of The Survival University, a Colorado
company that teaches wilderness skills, noted how quickly the
weather can turn in the state's high mountains.
“The weather rolls in fast and the mountains are steep,” he said.
“It's an unforgiving environment.”
About 60 search and rescue volunteers, aided by helicopters, drones
and dogs, searched for the two men.
The helicopter crew discovered a tent collapsed under the snow
Tuesday with their sleeping bags, a stove and clothing near a lake
northwest of Ice Mountain — but the students were nowhere to be
found.
Based on the tent's location, Rohrich said it appeared Matsuda and
Donlon changed plans and were aiming for the 13,597-foot
(4,144-meter) West Apostle Mountain, instead of Ice Mountain. He
said the location of the bodies, about a mile from their tent,
indicated that they were well into a hike when they died.
The sheriff's office said their climbing equipment was not in their
dorms, tent or vehicle, suggesting that they left their tent
prepared for a technical climb. Trash inside the tent indicated that
they ate before starting their hike, officials said.
Authorities had been concerned that aerial searches could be limited
in upcoming days because of poor weather that was expected to begin
Friday.
___
Johnson reported from Seattle, and Yu from Phoenix. Associated Press
writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
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