Canadian skyrunner Kalie McCrystal remains missing after disappearing on Tuesday during a training run on the Matterhorn. Rescue efforts, including a helicopter search on the Italian side of the mountain, were called off Friday after teams found no trace of the experienced 38-year-old athlete.
Kalie McCrystal, an elite mountain runner and lawyer from Squamish, British Columbia, was undertaking a reconnaissance/training session
in the Alps when she went missing, according to Athletics Canada. She had traveled to the border between Switzerland and Italy with the goal of setting a mountain-running record by ascending and descending the 14,692-foot Matterhorn in under five hours.
The Skyrunner World Series reported that McCrystal was last seen on Tuesday near a shelter at an altitude of approximately 12,500 feet after reaching the summit and descending the Italian side of the peak. The Skyrunner World Series noted in a press release that there has been no further contact with her, and no one has seen or heard from her since.
Search Efforts and Alpine Rescue Operations
Italian mountain rescue services mobilized following her disappearance. Search teams focused on the high-altitude terrain where she was last spotted near the descent route.
A helicopter search operation scanned the rugged slopes before authorities officially called off the aerial search on Friday after failing to find any trace of the athlete. McCrystal’s family is continuing to coordinate with Italian mountain rescue authorities to track her movements and determine when her mobile phone stopped receiving messages.
Friends and supporters have turned to public channels for assistance. Amelia Boultbee, a close friend who attended law school with McCrystal at the University of British Columbia, urged anyone who might have crossed paths with the runner to come forward.
I found out on Friday that Kalie was missing. I didn’t know right away, and ever since then, myself and all of her friends, we’re just trying to push the news out and ask for prayers for her safe return.
Boultbee asked that anyone who may have had contact
with McCrystal between 15:45 CET on Tuesday and 9:26 CET on Wednesday contact her via her X account to help narrow down the timeline.
Extensive Mountaineering Background
Athletics Canada emphasized that McCrystal was far from a novice in extreme alpine environments. The organization described her as an experienced skyrunner and mountaineer, with many years of experience in technical and high-altitude mountain environments.
She possessed extensive knowledge of alpine terrain and had successfully climbed the Matterhorn prior to this trip.
Skyrunning is defined by the International Skyrunning Federation as running in mountain environments above an altitude of 2,000 meters where climbing difficulty does not exceed an 11-degree grade and the incline exceeds 30 percent. McCrystal’s athletic resume includes multiple skyrunning records across Canada and Europe, alongside a victory in February at the 4 Refugios Non-Stop race in Bariloche, Argentina, where she completed a nearly 40-kilometer course peaking at 3,350 meters in 6 hours, 21 minutes, and 10 seconds.
Her familiarity with the Matterhorn specifically was well-documented in the Fastest Known Time database. On August 14, McCrystal completed a round-trip traverse of the mountain via the Hörnli Ridge starting from Zermatt, Switzerland, in 6 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds. In her report from that August ascent, she mentioned that she had briefly lost her route during what was intended to be a reconnaissance run, noting that she intended this to be a recon run, but ended up faster than I thought.
Friends and Colleagues Express Support
Duncan O’Regan, a fellow mountain runner and friend, expressed confidence in McCrystal’s physical abilities and decision-making when handling dangerous terrain.
Outside of her competitive running career, McCrystal maintains a professional life as a lawyer. She worked previously as a senior associate for Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and serves as a part-time instructor at the Capilano University School of Legal Studies in North Vancouver.
Jason Dewling, the president and vice-chancellor of Capilano University, shared institutional support for her family during the crisis. Our thoughts are with Kalie’s family, friends and colleagues, and with everyone involved in the search efforts during this incredibly difficult time,
Dewling stated.
Ещё по этой теме
