Former Olympic snowboarding champion Karine Ruby died in a climbing accident at France's Mont Blanc range on Friday.

The 31-year-old, who had been training to become a mountain guide, was roped to other climbers when she and some members of the group fell into a crevasse. Ruby and one other climber died in that fall, with a 27-year-old seriously injured.

Ruby won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics and a silver in the parallel giant slalom in Salt Lake City Games.

She was also a six-time world champion and secured 67 victories in the snowboard World Cup. Ruby retired after the Turin Olympics in 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2009)