Canadian athlete Kalie McCrystal disappeared during preparations for a record attempt in the Alps. McCrystal, from Squamish in British Columbia, was on a “reconnaissance/training session” in the run-up to his attempt to ascend and descend the 14,692-foot (4,478 m) Matterhorn on the Swiss-Italian border. According to the Skyrunner World Series, the 38-year-old woman was last seen on Tuesday. after having reached the top of the Matterhorn and descending the Italian side of the mountain. The last sighting of the athlete was near a shelter at an altitude of around 12,500 feet. “There has been no further contact with her, and no one has seen or heard from her since,” the Skyrunner World Series said in the news release. Skyrunning involves running and climbing at altitudes above 6,600 feet. McCrystal hoped to ascend and descend the Matterhorn in less than five hours during his record attempt. A helicopter search for McCrystal was called off on Friday after rescuers could find no trace of the athlete. McCrystal had climbed the Matterhorn before and, according to the Skyrunner World Series, had “many years of experience in high-altitude and technical mountain terrain.” A friend of McCrystal said he did not believe the athlete had taken unnecessary risks before her disappearance. “I know this goal was good within its capabilities,” Duncan O’Regan, McCrystal’s friend and fellow trail runner, told CBC. “She has done much more difficult things, and this is not something that is beyond her capabilities. She is comfortable in this area.” McCrystal has set several skyrunning records in Canada and Europe and is a lawyer and staff member at Capilano University in North Vancouver. “Our thoughts are with Kalie’s family, friends and colleagues, and with everyone involved in the search efforts during this incredibly difficult time,” said Jason Dewling, president and vice chancellor of the university.
