Published September 10, 2026 09:15AM
Elite trail runner Kalie McCrystal reached the Matterhorn summit, at an elevation of 14,682 feet, on September 1. McCrystal, 38, had finished the route many times before and was scouting it ahead of an attempt to become the fastest woman to run it, her friend and fellow trail runner, Hillary Gerardi, told Outside.
Witnesses say she was moving smoothly. Then on her descent, she vanished without a trace.
After a week of scouring the Alps, Italian authorities called off the search for the Canadian runner on September 8. But her disappearance has left those close to her bewildered. McCrystal was an accomplished, skilled mountaineer running in broad daylight on a clearly marked trail.
Where did she go?
“She was in her element,” Gerardi told Outside. McCrystal and Gerardi met during a racing competition in 2023 and became fast friends over their shared love of endurance training. “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 added.
Gerardi has spent the last week coordinating search-and-rescue efforts from France. Before McCrystal’s disappearance, Gerardi planned to support her attempt to break the fastest known time (FKT) for ascending the peak.
She said McCrystal was well prepared for the ascent—Gerardi has also summited the Matterhorn and holds a few records of her own. She is a Black Diamond Global Athlete and set the first women’s record on the Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route Ski Traverse in 2021. Gerardi also broke the women’s record on Mont Blanc in 2023.
Both Gerardi and McCrystal compete in a style of trail running called Skyrunning. Races send athletes on soaring mountain ascents, and the courses include trail running and scrambling up loose, steep slopes. Skyrunning attracts a certain type of extreme endurance athlete. McCrystal gave up a successful career as a corporate lawyer, instead opting to spend her time zigzaging through treacherous high-altitude trails, typically above 6,500 feet, and across very steep inclines and technical terrain.
Like the Matterhorn.
The Plan
The Matterhorn is an imposing mountain from every angle. The 14,692-foot peak sits directly on the border between Switzerland and Italy in the Pennine Alps, and is a premier objective for mountaineers.
Explorer Edward Whymper made the first documented ascent on July 14, 1865. Today, roughly 3,000 climbers reach the top every year, typically between summer and early fall when the lower sections are mostly free of snow. Since Whymper’s summit 161 years ago, the mountain has claimed more than 600 lives, with an average of around six annually, according to the Zermatt Tourism Board in Switzerland.
“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,” Gerardi said. “When I say steep, I mean like, you can’t climb it anywhere except the routes up a few ridges.”
McCrystal planned to take on Karina Anderson’s FKT of 5 hours, 14 minutes, and 53 seconds, set on August 9. Her September 1 outing was intended as a reconnaissance mission on Lion Ridge, the main route from the Italian side, and she wanted to run it in under five hours. It wouldn’t be easy; Lion Ridge is a weaving, technical route that requires careful rope work. The climb is demanding, exposed, extensive, and involves intensive scrambling.
“We’re talking about thousands and thousands of feet of exposure on both sides,” Gerardi said.
McCrystal previously summited the mountain in early August, but weather conditions deteriorated the trail so much that local outfitters stopped guiding. So, McCrystal backed off and wrote off her FKT attempt for the season.
That is, until one of the guide companies posted on social media that conditions had improved.
“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,’” Gerardi said.
The Disappearance
According to Gerardi, several Italian guides reportedly saw McCrystal near Mauvais Pas, a highly exposed rock ledge that literally translates to “bad” or “wrong step,” at around 2:15 P.M. on September 1, as she climbed toward the summit.
When McCrystal reached the summit, rescuers in an office in Switzerland trained a telescope on the Matterhorn, Gerardi said. Someone looking through it spotted her on the summit and had a clear enough view to make out what she was wearing.
“Somebody happened to be looking through it and saw her on the top,” Gerardi said.
After McCrystal reached the top, she turned around, and the rescue office watched as she began her descent. She moved well and deliberately, showing no signs of recklessness or distress, according to Gerardi.
“She is somebody who feels so alive, both in her body and in her environment, when she’s moving through terrain like that,” Gerardi added.
Polish climbers last saw McCrystal near Enjambée, a narrow rock gap, at around 14,000 feet at approximately 3:45 P.M., as she descended.
A Great Friend
Amelia Boultbee went to law school with McCrystal and described her as being the planner in the friend group.
“Kalie is one of the most prepared and determined people, and she takes this work very seriously,” Boultbee told Outside. “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.”
Despite her intense passion for trail running, McCrystal’s friends say she was also fun and good-hearted. Gerardi recalls McCrystal planning Easter egg hunts for her community and hiding goodies in British Columbia’s Squamish forest.
In the days since her disappearance, Gerard has spent time sitting with McCrystal’s mom and sister in Chamonix, France.
“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,” Gerardi said.
Those close to McCrystal say they are focused on bringing her home.
