A helicopter search has been suspended and ground teams remain the lead investigators after Canadian skyrunner Kalie McCrystal, 38, vanished while descending the Matterhorn’s Italian face during a reconnaissance run. McCrystal, who lives in Squamish, British Columbia, reached the summit before she was last seen near a shelter at roughly 12,500 ft on Tuesday, according to organisers and colleagues tracking the training effort.
She had been preparing to attempt an ascent and descent of the 14,692 ft (4,478m) peak in under five hours, an objective the Skyrunner World Series said she was training toward. The series also confirmed there has been no contact with McCrystal since the last sighting.
Rescuers called off helicopter operations on Friday after failing to locate any sign of her from the air. The decision ends the aerial phase of the hunt and places greater reliance on mountain rescuers working the route on foot and by rope, at times in highly technical and exposed terrain.
Friends and fellow athletes stressed McCrystal’s experience in demanding alpine environments. Duncan O’Regan, a mountain runner and friend, said, "I know that this objective was well within her capabilities," adding, "She’s done much more difficult things, and this is not something that is beyond her capabilities. She’s comfortable in this terrain."
Organisers noted McCrystal had previously climbed the Matterhorn and had recorded skyrunning results in Canada and Europe. She works as a lawyer and as a staff member at Capilano University in North Vancouver. Jason Dewling, the university’s president and vice-chancellor, said, "Our thoughts are with Kalie’s family, friends and colleagues, and with everyone involved in the search efforts during this incredibly difficult time."
Skyrunning combines high-altitude running and scrambling and typically takes place above 6,600 ft. With no confirmed sighting since Tuesday, searchers and McCrystal’s community remain focused on locating her and clarifying what happened during the descent. The suspension of helicopter searches shifts immediate prospects for discovery onto teams operating on the mountain and any new information that emerges from those efforts.
