Two college students who vanished during a Colorado mountain hike fell to their deaths after suffering a “catastrophic failure” while rappelling, police have revealed. 

Colorado Mountain College Leadville students Jackson Donlon, a 20-year-old Upstate New York native, and Kaden Matsuda, 19, “fell a substantial distance” and landed in a mountain basin after their equipment malfunctioned last week, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

The experienced outdoorsmen were found dead five days after they left campus intending to scale Ice Mountain, a near 14,000-foot peak. 

Donlon was “beginning to rappel from a primary anchor point on a rock substrate. That anchor appears to have been backed up by a piton and a secondary anchor made of rock substrate,” the update said.

“[Matsuda] was attached via his personal anchor device to the same anchor points as well as the primary anchor point. The anchor had a catastrophic failure of unknown cause. Both then fell a substantial distance,” the sheriff’s office said, stressing that the “exact distance” they plummeted is “unknown.” 

“The autopsy showed that the cause of both their deaths was multiple blunt force injuries and their deaths were instant,” the sheriff’s office said, stressing that “neither of them suffered.”

Donlon, from Queensbury, NY, and Matsuda, an aspiring firefighter from Ridgway, Colorado, were also known to have been caught in a snowstorm during their doomed adventure.

“It is unknown if the heavy snowstorm had a negative impact leading to the incident, but it did not play a direct contributing factor in their death,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Kaden and Jackson lived life at the highest peaks chasing freedoms and panoramic views that most of us only see in pictures. We hope their families and friends find strength in the memories of their vibrant spirits.

“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. There is also relief knowing neither of them suffered.”

Prior to their bodies being found, the hikers’ tent was found collapsed under the snow.

Sleeping bags, a stove and clothes were found inside but their were no sign of the hikers.

Matsuda’s car was found parked on a nearby trail with around eight inches of snow around it.