‘Skyrunner’ describes appeal and peril of sport as Canadian remains missing in Alps

Canadian trail runner Hillary Gerardi explains the allure and danger of her sport as her friend remains missing in the Alps. Gerardi, an American who has lived in France for 15 years, describes skyrunning as a way to feel most alive, but acknowledges that some routes have little to no margin of error. She and her friend Kalie McCrystal, a close friend, were planning to help McCrystal break a running record on the Italian side of the Matterhorn last week.

However, when they realized McCrystal had not been heard from, they alerted authorities. Despite McCrystal having gone up and down the route multiple times without mistakes, Gerardi suggests that a slip or trip may have been the cause of her disappearance. The inaccessible area where McCrystal is believed to have gone missing has led search efforts to be suspended unless new information is found. Athletics Canada has not provided any updates on the search for McCrystal.