An Argentine tech executive, known for his passion for climbing, met a tragic end earlier this month after losing his way on a glacier and falling to his death while descending Mount Shasta in Northern California. Authorities confirmed the incident.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported that Matias Augusto Travizano, 45, was part of a trio of climbers who successfully reached the mountain’s summit on the morning of September 12. Standing at just over 14,100 feet above sea level, Mount Shasta ranks as California’s fifth-highest peak and the second-highest in the Cascade Range.
During their descent, Travizano and another climber inadvertently strayed from the marked path, finding themselves stranded at the edge of Wintun Glacier, at an elevation of 13,500 feet. Realizing their error, they attempted a controlled slide, known as a glissade, to rejoin the correct route, according to the sheriff’s office.
However, Travizano lost control, plummeting approximately 2,000 feet down the icy slope. He appeared to lose consciousness after impacting a boulder.
The second climber followed behind, and as he neared within 80 feet, Travizano reportedly regained consciousness and moved. “Tragically, this movement dislodged him from the rock, and he slid down the remainder of the glacier and out of sight,” the official statement read.
Around 2:27 p.m. that day, deputies received an emergency call from the third climber, who had rendezvoused with the second, reporting that a man had fallen down the Wintun Glacier and vanished.
After an extensive multi-hour search, Travizano’s body was discovered near the base of the glacier, the sheriff’s office confirmed.
Martin Varsavsky, an Argentine entrepreneur who had known Travizano for over a decade, described him as an experienced hiker. They had plans for a hike in Mendoza, Argentina, in December, underscoring Travizano’s deep engagement with the sport.
Mount Shasta, a distinctive double-peaked volcano, draws climbers, skiers, and hikers, yet it presents considerable challenges with its unpredictable weather, shifting winds, and treacherous glaciers. Travizano had been on the Clear Creek route, generally considered one of the safer paths. However, the sheriff’s statement highlighted that this route can become disorienting in low visibility, leading climbers into more dangerous terrain.
Travizano, a physicist and entrepreneur, resided in California. He was a visiting scholar at the HuMNet Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, which focuses on human mobility and urban networks. He is survived by his wife, Kristen Durham, and their infant son, Kai.
His professional background included being a founder and managing partner of Sur Ventures, a venture capital firm. He also founded and formerly chaired GranData, a San Francisco-based company specializing in artificial intelligence, data, and privacy solutions. He sold GranData in 2024 but continued to serve as an advisor.
Despite his life in the United States, Travizano maintained strong ties to his Argentine heritage. He supported his alma mater, the University of Buenos Aires, and assisted the government of President Javier Milei, even organizing Mr. Milei’s tour of Silicon Valley in 2024.
Chris Carr, a guide and climber with three decades of experience on Mount Shasta, explained in an interview that just below the summit, climbers can mistakenly stray from the plateau onto the glacier, where the surface is often hard-packed and dry during the late summer. “This time of the year, it is common to get cloud buildup on the upper mountain and get disoriented,” he noted. “You can’t see your hand in front of your face.”
Carr emphasized the difficulty: “There is nothing easy about climbing Mount Shasta in September. It is easy to get off route, you are in very treacherous terrain.”
This incident follows another tragedy in July when a different hiker’s body was discovered near the 10,000-foot elevation, also off the Clear Creek route.