A world champion trail runner summited one of the most iconic peaks in the Alps — and then simply disappeared.
Kalie McCrystal, a 38-year-old Canadian Skyrunning World Champion, was last seen descending the Matterhorn on September 1, during what was supposed to be a routine reconnaissance run ahead of a women’s fastest known time record attempt.
Witnesses watched her move confidently down the mountain — and then she was gone.
After a week-long search across the Italian and Swiss Alps, authorities called off the rescue operation on September 8, leaving her friends, family, and the global trail running community searching for answers.
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A Champion Who Lived for the Mountains
McCrystal wasn’t a casual hiker — she was an elite-level mountain athlete who had traded a successful career as a corporate lawyer for the world’s most demanding high-altitude trails.
She competed in Skyrunning, a brutal discipline that sends athletes charging up soaring mountain ascents, scrambling across steep, loose terrain typically above 6,500 feet. It draws a very specific kind of person — relentless, fearless, and deeply at home in the vertical world.
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Friend and fellow trail runner Hillary Gerardi, who had planned to support McCrystal’s FKT attempt, described her in vivid terms.
The Kalie that I know and love is both an extremely talented and driven mountain athlete who has a really unique skill set. She is extraordinary at running fast on non-technical trails, but really truly shines in super technical terrain.
Gerardi is no stranger to the mountains herself — she holds a women’s record on Mont Blanc and set the first women’s record on the Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route Ski Traverse in 2021. When she says McCrystal was exceptional, it carries real weight.
The Record She Was Chasing
The Matterhorn is not a mountain that forgives mistakes. Rising 14,692 feet on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is steep on every side — a near-vertical pyramid of rock that has claimed more than 600 lives since explorer Edward Whymper made its first documented ascent in July 1865.
We’re in the Alps. There are high mountains, and then there is the Matterhorn, which is remarkable in the way that it stands alone and is steep on all sides. When I say steep, I mean like, you can’t climb it anywhere except the routes up a few ridges.
McCrystal had her sights set on Karina Anderson’s women’s FKT of 5 hours, 14 minutes, and 53 seconds, set just weeks earlier on August 9. Her September 1 outing along the technical Lion Ridge route — the main approach from the Italian side — was meant to be a recon mission, a chance to study the terrain before a full-speed attempt.
She had actually backed off an earlier FKT bid in August after poor weather conditions forced local guide companies to suspend operations on the mountain. Then a guide company posted on social media that conditions had improved, and McCrystal saw her window reopening.
She sent me a screenshot of that post with an emoji with huge eyes being like, ‘Oh my God, there’s a chance again. I can do this.’
The Last Time Anyone Saw Her
McCrystal reached the summit successfully. Rescuers in a Swiss monitoring office were actually watching through a telescope when she arrived at the top, close enough to identify what she was wearing.
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- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
She turned around and began her descent — moving deliberately, calmly, with no signs of distress. Then the trail went silent.
Italian guides had spotted her at around 2:15 P.M. near Mauvais Pas — a dangerously exposed rock ledge whose name translates grimly to “wrong step” — as she climbed toward the top. Polish climbers were the last to see her, near a narrow rock gap called Enjambée at approximately 14,000 feet, at around 3:45 P.M. during her descent.
After that? Nothing.
We’re talking about thousands and thousands of feet of exposure on both sides.
Gerardi has been coordinating search-and-rescue efforts from France since the disappearance, pouring everything into finding her friend on a mountain they both knew and loved.
The Woman Behind the Records
To those who knew McCrystal personally, she was far more than her athletic achievements. She was the one who planned the Easter egg hunts, hiding treats for her community throughout British Columbia’s Squamish forest. She was the organizer, the planner, the friend who made sure everyone around her felt taken care of.
Amelia Boultbee, who attended law school alongside McCrystal, remembered her exactly that way.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Kalie is one of the most prepared and determined people, and she takes this work very seriously. While she’s always been athletic, she got into skyrunning in the last several years and became a world champion at it, which is pretty impressive in your thirties.
In the days following the disappearance, Gerardi has been sitting with McCrystal’s mother and sister in Chamonix — sharing stories, sharing grief, and holding onto every memory.
We laughed as much as we cried, because we were telling each other stories about the hilarious experiences we’ve had and the funny things that she’s said.
Italian authorities suspended the official search on September 8, one week after McCrystal vanished. Those closest to her say they remain focused on one thing: bringing her home.
