A search that stretched across five days in Colorado's Sawatch Range has ended in tragedy. Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20 — both students at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville — were found dead on October 28 in the basin below West Apostle Mountain, a 13,597-foot peak outside Gunnison. Authorities say they do not suspect foul play and have not released a cause of death.
The two set out on October 23 for what was meant to be a hiking and camping trip near Ice Mountain, a 13,960-foot summit roughly 50 miles from Gunnison. Both were experienced: Matsuda was training to become a wildland firefighter, Donlon was working toward a career as a mountain guide. When their families lost contact, college staff reported them missing on October 26, and the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office launched a search. Rescuers found the pair's vehicle at the trailhead as heavy snow fell across the county.
The conditions tell much of the story. While only about eight inches of snow sat near the vehicle in the lower basin, Ice Mountain itself had taken on one to two feet. Search teams using drones, helicopters and dogs located the men's tent on October 27 near West Apostle Mountain — collapsed under the snow load, with sleeping bags and stoves still inside. The students' bodies were found the following day.
The Sawatch Range is packed with 13,000- and 14,000-foot peaks, and routes like West Apostle demand real technical skill even in good weather. The standard line crosses fields of loose scree and talus that turn treacherous once wet or snowed on. Between 2010 and 2017, eight people died in the Sawatch Mountains, and falls remain the leading cause of death on Colorado's high 13ers and 14ers.
For anyone planning a shoulder-season trip into Colorado's high country, the takeaways are blunt: a peak rated difficult in dry conditions becomes a different proposition after early snow, and snowfall at trailhead level can wildly understate what's accumulating higher up. Check recent conditions and avalanche forecasts for the specific summit, not just the valley, carry shelter and insulation rated well below forecast lows, and file a precise itinerary with someone who knows when to raise the alarm. Late October in the Colorado Rockies is firmly winter at altitude, however mild the drive up feels.
