As a musician, Kyle Richardson sees nature and the landscape as a blank score, waiting for the rhythm and melody he can infuse as he takes on classic routes and dreams up new lines. As much an artist as an athlete, he refuses to be defined by a single genre, and is always seeking to redefine how he moves through the mountains.

Raised in Austin, Texas, he moved to Boulder, Colorado for college in 2014, where he quickly applied his running talent to the adjacent trails and peaks. Scrambling up the city’s iconic Flatirons, he honed the art of moving quickly across the most aesthetic line, even when it required getting inventive, or adopting more than one sport.

Running, scrambling, cycling, or all three – however Kyle can cover the distance, he does it, with FKTs on peaks and ridgelines across Colorado to show for his efforts. “My vision for the sport is to move freely and naturally in the mountains, light and untethered,” he says. “I know my strongest days are still ahead of me, and I want to reach my full potential by committing 100% to my craft.”

Achievements

• FKT, Flatirons linkup (Colorado), quinfecta, unsupported, 2021
• FKT, Green Mountain (Colorad), round-trip, unsupported, 2021
• FKT, Longs Peak (Colorado), car-to-car, any route, unsupported, 2020
• FKT, Longs Peak Grand Slam (Colorado), winter, unsupported, 2020
• FKT, First Flatiron (Colorado), east face direct, round-trip, unsupported, 2019
• FKT, Third Flatiron, standard east face, round-trip, supported, 2019
• FKT, The Slab, Flatirons (Colorado), standard route, supported, 2019
• FKT, LA Freeway (Colorado), standard route, unsupported, 2018