09/25/2026
TRAIL RUNNING HAS TAKEN A HARD HIT
It has been a tragic few weeks for the trail-running and mountain-running community.
Canadian trail runner and skyrunner Kalie McCrystal disappeared while descending the Matterhorn on September 1. Kalie was deeply connected to the Sea to Sky community, and her loss has been felt particularly hard here at home. On September 19, elite Norwegian mountain runner Ida Amelie Robsahm died after a fall on Romsdalseggen in Norway.
These are devastating losses. Our deepest sympathies go to their families, friends, training partners and the running communities grieving them.
Other local incidents in places like Sky Pilot and the Armchair Traverse involving trail runners in technical terrain have put the sport under a spotlight.
The comments have followed:
“Trail runners seem to think they are invincible.”
“Trail runners should stick to the trails.”
There have also been questions about runners entering technical terrain without ropes, carrying enough emergency equipment, and whether moving fast and light leaves enough safety margin.
Those are fair subjects to discuss. Guess what? Hikers, scramblers, and mountaineers make those same choices too. Safety-margin trade-offs aren't unique to trail running. Painting an entire mountain community as reckless is too simplistic and isn't supported by the evidence.
So set aside what you think you know for a moment and come along for a more nuanced discussion about terrain, experience, and trade-offs.
WHAT DOES THE DATA SAY?
There is no evidence in the available data that trail runners are disproportionately requiring rescue.
A 25-year study of North Shore Rescue medical callouts examined 906 subjects. Hikers accounted for 53% of medical rescues, followed by biking and snow sports at about 10% each. Trail running did not emerge as a major activity category.
Anecdotally, that reflects what we see on our own team too. Hikers make up the majority of the people we assist. Looking back over the last several years of our rescues, we can identify only 5 involving trail runners in about 100 rescues. That isn't a controlled study and doesn't tell us the relative risk of either activity, but it certainly doesn't match the perception that trail runners are driving our rescue workload.
A 2026 Rocky Mountain National Park study comparing 586 day hikers with 68 trail runners found that the runners reported more wilderness experience and greater wilderness preparedness. They also spent considerably more time out there — 93 wilderness days per year compared with 30 for day hikers. In other words, the runners in this study weren't simply moving faster; they were getting out roughly three times as often and accumulating substantially more experience.
New Zealand Search and Rescue found that trail runners were frequent outdoor users, and 59% had gone alone on their most recent outing. Travelling alone isn't unique to runners, and neither is being underprepared.
We see underprepared people across every mountain activity. Hikers head out without headlamps or enough emergency gear. Scramblers underestimate terrain. Climbers and mountaineers make decisions about equipment and protection. Runners sometimes carry too little. Underpreparedness is a backcountry problem, not a trail-running problem.
There is also an important limitation in the research: rescue numbers aren't rescue rates. We don't know how many people participate in each activity, how often they go out or how many hours they spend exposed to mountain hazards.
So the evidence doesn't give us a good reason to single out trail runners. A more useful discussion is about the actual terrain people are entering, what risks they're accepting and how much safety margin they're leaving themselves.
TERRAIN IS UNFORGIVING
We tend to define mountain activities by what we call ourselves — hiker, trail runner, scrambler, climber, mountaineer — rather than by the terrain we're moving through.
Someone can call an outing a trail run while moving through Class 3 or Class 4 terrain. Another person might call exactly the same route scrambling.
As a rough guide, Class 3 is scrambling, where hands are regularly used. Class 4 is exposed scrambling or easy climbing, where a fall can result in serious injury or death. Class 5 is technical rock climbing.
A recent discussion about the Pink Slab on Sky Pilot illustrates the problem. One experienced commenter described it as Class 4, then suggested it was “more Class 3” because “it's very easy.” Debates like this have been going on for decades, and at some point they become a little pointless because perceived difficulty is relative to the individual.
We've been on the Pink Slab. The moves may feel easy to an experienced scrambler or climber, but the exposure is enormous. Stray from the main climb and a fall can continue for hundreds of metres.
“Easy” is relative to the person and their ability. Consequence isn't. Many people have died in someone else's concept of “easy” terrain.
Kílian Jornet described that distinction remarkably well before attempting his Matterhorn speed record. For an athlete of his ability, he described the route as technically "not difficult", then added: “BUT if I fall, I will die!”
Skill and experience matter enormously. They affect how well we move, recognize hazards, make decisions and manage risk. What they cannot do is change the underlying consequence of the terrain.
We've seen that across the full spectrum of experience and activities. Owen Hosford was a runner and outdoorsman whose pursuits included hiking, climbing and mountaineering. Michael Taylor had successfully summited Sky Pilot and was descending when he slipped on exposed blue ice on Stadium Glacier. Ida Amelie Robsahm was an elite mountain runner who died after a fall in Norway.
At the far end of that spectrum was Ueli Steck, one of the world's most accomplished alpinists. Running was a major part of his training, and speed and efficiency defined how he moved through the mountains. He died after a fall while climbing alone on Nuptse in 2017.
Their experience ranged from recreational mountain users to elite professionals. Experience reduces the likelihood of making a mistake and raises our ability to manage risk.
We don't need to debate terrain classes - just ask yourself:
“What happens if I fall right here, on this move?”
Do you land on a ledge and collect some bruises? Tumble through rocks and potentially break bones? Go over an edge or fall hundreds of metres?
That's your answer.
WHAT IS SKYRUNNING?
Modern skyrunning emerged from the intersection of running and mountaineering.
The International Skyrunning Federation describes terrain that can include scree, exposed ridges, fixed ropes, snow and glaciers. At its highest technical classification, high-altitude mountaineering experience may be required and climbing can reach UIAA Grade II.
For those more familiar with the North American system, UIAA Grade II is easy climbing, not ordinary hiking. Hands and feet are deliberately used to make upward progress.
At the technical end of skyrunning, athletes are moving through mountaineering terrain.
SAFETY MARGIN IS A TRADE-OFF
Mountain travel has always involved safety-margin trade-offs. Mountaineers make them too. We decide when to rope up, when to pitch it out or simul-climb, how much equipment to carry, whether moving faster reduces one hazard while increasing another, and how much residual risk we're willing to accept.
Mountain runners make similar decisions, with speed and low weight playing a larger role. Carrying less can reduce time exposed to weather and other hazards while leaving less margin if something goes wrong. Moving unroped can dramatically increase efficiency while making a fall in exposed terrain potentially unsurvivable.
Knowing how to make those trade-offs comes with deep experience.
First we learn terrain, movement, equipment, protection and the rules that keep us safe. With experience, we begin to understand why those rules exist and which margins we can reasonably reduce. Speed comes after skill.
Kílian Jornet is perhaps the clearest example. His extraordinary speed sits on top of a lifetime spent developing mountain skills. Make no mistake: performances like his FKTs are built on years of progression, training, repetition and intimate knowledge of the terrain. Before his Matterhorn record, he talked about needing to spend time on the route and learn every step. On Mont Blanc, he had climbed the route more than 15 times in two years. Even on the Grand Teton, he climbed the route twice before attempting the FKT.
He has spoken about learning how a mountain changes with weather, temperature and ice, knowing where he can push and where he needs to slow down, and treating fear as useful information. The speed we see is the end product of all that experience, not the starting point.
Kalie McCrystal spoke openly about making those same kinds of calculations in technical mountain terrain: choosing weather windows, deciding when a rope was appropriate, weighing equipment against speed, and drawing on years of developed mountain skills. Her loss on the Matterhorn doesn't tell us those decisions were wrong. It reminds us of something much harder to accept: we can manage risk, but we can never eliminate it.
After Ueli Steck died in 2017, Kílian changed his own plans on Everest, choosing the traditional route rather than a harder line because he didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
Experience helps us understand which risks to accept, which margins can be reduced and which can't, and when to back off. Knowing when to turn around or dial things down is a skill.
Learn the rules. Follow the rules. Understand why the rules exist. Then, with enough experience, learn where the exceptions are. Don't start with the exceptions.
THE ESSENTIALS WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING
Prepared doesn't have to mean carrying a huge pack.
Colorado Search and Rescue Association demonstrated a modern mountain-running kit that fits into a 12-litre running vest: emergency shelter, headlamp, first aid, navigation, satellite communicator, battery, shell, insulation, fire starter, food and water treatment.
Environmental exposure becomes a significant threat when movement stops - especially in alpine terrain. A 2025 review of serious trail-running incidents found that cold weather and potential hypothermia accounted for 40% of deaths attributed to external causes, compared with 25% from falls and blunt trauma.
Modern technology can make your kit lighter: satellite communicators, compact power banks, ultralight bivies, tiny headlamps, water filters and highly compressible insulation. There is no excuse not to carry the Essentials.
Bring them, make them running-sized, then add whatever technical equipment the terrain demands.
A MESSAGE FOR BOTH SIDES
For hikers, scramblers and mountaineers blaming trail runners: look at your own community too. You get rescued. You forget gear. You underestimate terrain. Underpreparedness isn't unique to runners.
For trail runners and skyrunners: keep matching your skills and equipment to the terrain you're entering. Ask yourself: what happens if you stop running? Exposure and hypothermia become major concerns, so carry a puffy, emergency bivy or space blanket, a bothy bag, and the other Essentials.
Objectives like the West Lion, Sky Pilot, or the Armchair Traverse are high-consequence mountain terrain - not “just a run” or “a simple hike.” They may be travelled quickly by experienced individuals, but the exposure and consequences remain high.
For all of us, build the progression and technical skills the terrain demands. Learn the rules before deciding which margins you're prepared to reduce.
This isn't a simple debate, so don't reduce it to one. Experience, terrain, equipment, conditions, speed, and the safety margins we choose all play a role in incidents and outcomes.
Never underestimate the mountain — she will humble even the most experienced among us.
Kílian Jornet has long used . It's a fitting reminder that experience can help us make better decisions and manage our safety margins, but it never makes us immune to the consequences of terrain.
