Athletics Canada says mountaineer goes missing attempting Matterhorn record
Canadian mountaineer Kalie McCrystal has gone missing while attempting to break a mountain-running record on the Matterhorn. Search efforts are currently underway for the experienced athlete.
Why it matters
The disappearance highlights the inherent risks associated with extreme high-altitude sports and the tight-knit nature of the global skyrunning community.
Athletics Canada says one of its members has gone missing while attempting to break a mountain-running record in the Alps along the Switzerland-Italy border.
The national sport governing body says in a statement that Kalie McCrystal was last seen Tuesday.
It says the skyrunner and mountaineer was climbing Italy’s Matterhorn, a roughly 4,481-metre-tall, horn-shaped peak overlooking the Swiss town of Zermatt.
The statement says McCrystal has many years of experience in technical, high-altitude environments, and has climbed the Matterhorn before.
“This was therefore not her first ascent of the mountain,” it said.
The statement did not give details on the record she was trying to break.
“Kalie is a highly respected athlete and a valued member of the worldwide skyrunning community,” it said.
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