Canadian Skyrunner Missing on Italian Side of the Matterhorn While Pursuing Speed Record

Canadian skyrunner and mountaineer Kalie McCrystal has been missing on the Matterhorn since Tuesday, September 1. The British Columbia native was allegedly attempting to set a new speed record for climbing and descending the iconic 14,692-foot (4,478-meter) peak. McCrystal had reached the summit and was descending the mountain’s Italian route along the Lion’s Ridge toward Cervinia when contact was lost. Her last known trace is a photograph posted on September 1 from above the Rifugio Jean-Antoine Carrel, located at approximately 12,565 feet (3,830 meters) on the Italian side of the Matterhorn.

Italian and Canadian media report that search crews have so far found no sign of McCrystal. The search is being conducted by the Aosta Valley Mountain Rescue Service and Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, which is responsible for mountain rescue operations in the Cervinia area. A helicopter search on Thursday, September 3, covered the normal Italian route toward the summit. Rescuers also used a RECCO detection system and attempted to establish contact with McCrystal’s cellphone, but neither effort produced a result. The helicopter operation has since been suspended, although the search for McCrystal remains ongoing.

• Related: Mountaineer Dies After Fatal Fall on Matterhorn, Switzerland

McCrystal was in Cervinia preparing for an ambitious fastest-known-time attempt on the Matterhorn. Her goal was to climb and descend the mountain via the Lion’s Ridge (Cresta del Leone) in less than five hours. The 38-year-old Squamish resident had announced the project on social media in August, writing that she was in Cervinia preparing for “the big goal of the season”: completing the Matterhorn ascent and descent in under five hours. The attempt came after extensive preparation on the mountain.

According to posts she made in August, McCrystal had already experienced difficult conditions during her reconnaissance. A significant rockfall occurred on August 5, and she abandoned a solo summit attempt the following day. She subsequently reached the summit on August 7 with a group she encountered on the mountain before returning to the starting point.

McCrystal had also noted concerns about weather and acclimatization, saying she wanted conditions to improve while her lungs adapted to the altitude.

McCrystal is an accomplished skyrunner and mountaineer with extensive experience in technical and high-altitude terrain. Her family described her as highly experienced in alpine environments and said she had previously climbed the Matterhorn. Just weeks before her disappearance, McCrystal established a speed record on the mountain’s Swiss side. On August 14, she completed a solo ascent and descent of the Matterhorn via the Hörnli Ridge from Zermatt in 6 hours, 47 minutes and 33 seconds. She also recently set a fastest-known time on British Columbia’s highly technical Tantalus Traverse, reportedly cutting three hours from the previous record. The disappearance of the experienced athlete has sent shockwaves through the international skyrunning community. On August 23, McCrystal came fourth at the Trofeo Kima — a 50-kilometer race across 4,200 meters of altitude.

“Kalie is very experienced, skilled, and capable of traversing this terrain,” fellow British Columbian skyrunner Katarina Kuba wrote in a Facebook post. “Kalie had done this route multiple times in the last few weeks,” Kuba added. According to Kuba, McCrystal was not attempting an FKT but was scoping the route.

Italian media reported that McCrystal was wearing relatively light-colored clothing when she was last seen, including shorts and a jacket, and carrying a trail-running backpack. “She was dressed in white,” rescuers said, according to Italian news agency ANSA, making her particularly difficult to distinguish against the mountain.

The Matterhorn is an unusually challenging environment for search crews, with steep rock faces, narrow ridges, gullies and extensive areas that are difficult to view from the air. Search crews initially used a larger air ambulance helicopter before turning to a smaller aircraft capable of operating closer to the Matterhorn’s steep faces and gullies.

No cellphone signal has been detected.

McCrystal’s family and friends remain hopeful. “Kalie is a highly respected athlete and a valued member of the worldwide skyrunning community,” her family said in a statement. “We are hoping for her safe return and are grateful to those involved in the ongoing search.”

The Matterhorn has become an increasingly popular objective for elite mountain runners seeking fastest-known times, but its technical terrain makes speed attempts fundamentally different from conventional trail-running records.

This is an evolving situation and SnowBrains will update readers if more information becomes available.