A prominent Argentine tech executive, known for his passion for climbing, tragically lost his life earlier this month on Mount Shasta in Northern California. Authorities reported that Matias Augusto Travizano fell thousands of feet down a glacier after becoming disoriented during his descent from the summit.
According to a news release from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, the 45-year-old executive was one of three climbers who successfully reached the peak of Mount Shasta on the morning of September 12th. Standing just over 14,100 feet above sea level, Mount Shasta ranks as California’s fifth-highest mountain and the second-highest in the Cascade Range.
During their return, Travizano and another climber inadvertently strayed from the established trail, finding themselves stranded near the edge of Wintun Glacier at an elevation of 13,500 feet. Realizing their misstep, they attempted a controlled slide, or glissade, to a lower section to reconnect with the correct route.
However, Travizano lost control during the maneuver, plummeting approximately 2,000 feet down the icy glacier. He appeared to lose consciousness after impacting a large boulder.
The second climber followed in descent, and as he neared Travizano, who was about 80 feet away, the executive reportedly regained consciousness and began to stir.
“Tragically, this movement dislodged him from the rock, and he slid down the remainder of the glacier and out of sight,” the sheriff’s statement detailed.
At approximately 2:27 p.m. that day, deputies received an urgent 911 call from the third climber, who had managed to reach the second, reporting that a man had fallen down Wintun Glacier and vanished.
After an extensive search lasting several hours, Travizano’s body was discovered at 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 and enthusiastic hiker. They had plans to embark on a hike in Mendoza, Argentina, in December. “He was well experienced,” Varsavsky stated.
Mount Shasta, an active double-peaked volcano, draws a diverse crowd of climbers, skiers, and hikers. However, its slopes and glaciers are notorious for unpredictable weather, including sudden shifts in wind and severe storms. Travizano was on the Clear Creek route, generally considered one of the safer paths up the mountain. Yet, as the sheriff’s statement highlighted, even experienced climbers can become disoriented in poor visibility, inadvertently venturing into more dangerous terrain.
Travizano, a physicist by training and a successful entrepreneur, resided in California. He was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley’s HuMNet Lab, focusing on human mobility and urban networks. He is survived by his wife, Kristen Durham, and their infant son, Kai.
His professional background, according to his LinkedIn profile, included founding and serving as a managing partner at Sur Ventures, a venture capital firm. He also founded and previously chaired GranData, a San Francisco-based company specializing in artificial intelligence, data, and privacy solutions. After selling GranData in 2024, he continued to serve as an adviser.
Despite his life and career in the United States, Travizano maintained strong ties to his home country. He contributed to his alma mater, the University of Buenos Aires, and played a role in the government of President Javier Milei, assisting in organizing Mr. Milei’s 2024 Silicon Valley tour.
Chris Carr, a guide and climber with three decades of experience on Mount Shasta, noted in an interview that disorientation is a real risk just below the summit. Climbers can mistakenly veer off the plateau onto the glacier, where the surface becomes hard-packed and dry during the late summer months.
“This time of the year, it is common to get cloud buildup on the upper mountain and get disoriented,” Carr explained. “You can’t see your hand in front of your face.”
“There is nothing easy about climbing Mount Shasta in September,” Mr. Carr emphasized. “It is easy to get off route; you are in very treacherous terrain.”
This incident follows another tragedy in July, when a hiker’s body was discovered near the 10,000-foot elevation, also off the Clear Creek route.