Squamish sky runner Kalie McCrystal presumed dead on Matterhorn

Kalie McCrystal, a 38-year-old from Squamish, is presumed dead after going missing on the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. The family issued a statement two weeks after her disappearance.

McCrystal, a world-class athlete and highly experienced mountaineer, was on reconnaissance for a sky running attempt when she went missing. Sky running involves speed ascent and descent of an alpine mountain. She was training to reach the Matterhorn's summit and return in under five hours. The Matterhorn sits on the Switzerland-Italy border and rises nearly 4,000 metres at the Jean-Antoine Carrel hut on the Italian side, where she was last seen.

McCrystal had previous experience on the mountain: she completed a solo ascent and descent in seven hours from the Swiss side in August. Italy's Guardia di Finanza mountain rescue team conducted aerial and ground searches before calling off the mass search on September 5. The family now believes she perished while descending, with evidence suggesting she fell.

In Squamish, McCrystal was a lawyer and an instructor of legal studies at Capilano University's faculty of business and professional studies. Her mother, Wendy Cooper, and sister, Jody McCrystal, issued a statement via Facebook through family friend Amelia Boultbee: "It has been two weeks since our dearest Kalie went missing during a reconnaissance on the Matterhorn. She remains among the mountains where she felt most at home."