Two Colorado college students remained missing on Wednesday, October 28, after a weekend climb on Ice Mountain in Chaffee County ran into a heavy snowstorm — and search teams who found their tent, collapsed under snow near Lake Ann with their sleeping bags, stove and clothing still inside, found no sign of the men themselves, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, the Associated Press and ABC News. Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of New York, are students at Colorado Mountain College's Leadville campus.
Source: Associated Press
The two left campus on Friday, October 23, telling family and friends they planned to climb Ice Mountain, at the far north end of Chaffee County, the sheriff's office said. Their plan was flexible: return on Saturday if they did not feel safe, or on Sunday if they continued to Ice Mountain. Rain fell on the area on Friday, then it began snowing on Saturday afternoon, and the storm dropped over a foot of snow. They were expected back by Sunday. When they did not return, college staff reported them missing on Monday morning.
Source: ABC News via Chaffee County Sheriff's Office
The tent by Lake Ann — and what it did, and did not, tell rescuers
On Tuesday, a helicopter crew spotted an object near Lake Ann, northwest of Ice Mountain. A team sent in on foot found the hikers' tent collapsed under the weight of the snow. “There was no snow under the tent and there were no visible footprints in the snow, which suggested, again, this was all in place before the snow came in. Their sleeping bags, a stove and some clothing were inside the tent, but Kaden and Jackson were not located,” the sheriff's office said. Based on the tent's location, officials said the pair were aiming for the 13,597-foot West Apostle Mountain, not far from Ice Mountain, which tops out at 13,960 feet in the Collegiate Peaks of the Sawatch range, southeast of Aspen.
Source: ABC News via Chaffee County Sheriff's Office
Deputies had already found Matsuda's vehicle on Monday at the Mt. Huron trailhead, with about eight inches of snow on the ground around it but none under the vehicle — another sign the pair arrived before the snow. Forensic examination showed their phones had not been used in 48 hours, but the sheriff's office cautioned that “the service in the area would be almost nonexistent, and they certainly could have turned the phones off to preserve the batteries, which makes the 48 hours less concerning.” Investigators did not find the pair's climbing gear in their dorms, their vehicle or the tent, suggesting they had taken it with them for the ascent.
Source: ABC News via Chaffee County Sheriff's Office
A mountain now encased in ice
The sheriff's office said Ice Mountain “is a very technical climb, and it is recommended that hikers be very experienced when trying to tackle it. That is when it is dry.” After the storm, the mountain “is also now encased in ice from the rain/snow,” the office said: to reach it, teams would have to cross boulder fields now covered in snow, “making it extremely dangerous and virtually impossible on foot,” and there is nowhere on the mountain a helicopter could land to bring staff in. An aircraft with thermal imagery searched on Tuesday and found no heat signatures, and despite the fresh snow, searchers have found no human tracks.
Source: Alamosa Citizen
The ground effort is large and multi-county. About 50 searchers from Teller, Lake, Chaffee, Arapahoe and Park counties were in the area on Tuesday evening, the sheriff's office said, and by Wednesday about 60 search and rescue volunteers, aided by helicopters, drones and dogs, were searching. Authorities have expanded the search areas and are also considering other potential destinations the pair may have been headed to besides Ice Mountain.
Source: Associated Press
Experienced, prepared — and caught by the weather
Friends and family described both men as experienced hikers and climbers who should have had appropriate clothing. Matsuda is studying to become a wildland firefighter, and Donlon is studying to become a mountain guide, Sheriff Andy Rohrich said. “We are proud of these young men concerning how prepared they were, but sometimes mother nature throws you a curveball,” Rohrich said, referring to the storm that dropped over a foot of snow on the area on Saturday.
Source: Associated Press
Sheriff Andy Rohrich said authorities are “still optimistic Kaden and Jackson are hunkered down somewhere waiting to be rescued. Our window of opportunity is closing as poor weather is expected again later this week, so we are putting all our available resources in the field… They are both strong young men… so hope is not lost. Please keep the families in your thoughts as we continue to search.” Poor weather expected from Friday could limit aerial searches for several days.
What happens next is a race against that forecast. Search teams expanded their areas on Wednesday and will keep helicopters, drones and dogs working while the weather allows; the window for aerial searching may narrow from Friday. “Unfortunately, we still have not located Kaden and Jackson, and our hearts go out to their families. It is unimaginable what they must be going through,” Rohrich said. Anyone with information about the pair's planned route beyond what friends and family have already shared is, in effect, the one lead rescuers do not yet have — the sheriff's office is treating every detail of the plan the two men described before leaving as search evidence.
Source: Alamosa Citizen