By Adryan Roane Ritter

Friday, May 29th, 2009: Karine Ruby, the first women to ever win a gold medal in Alpine Snowboarding at the 1998 Nagano, Japan Olympics, has died in a tragic mountain climbing accident in France.

According to reports from the AFP (Associated French Press), Ruby and a group of climbers were mountaineering in the Mont Blanc range near Chamonix, France. The five climbers were tethered together when the top climber fell into a crevasse, pulling Ruby and another climber down as well.

According to local police, weather conditions were good at the time of the accident, which occurred at 11:50 AM today. The crevasse was approximately 70 feet deep.

Two of the three climbers were killed, including Ruby, age 31, while another was seriously injured and taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital.

At the time of the accident Ruby was acting as guide to the group of climbers, a role she's been exploring ever since her retirement after the 2006 Turino Olympics in Italy. She was expected to finish her Mountain Guide training within a few weeks.

Besides winning the gold in Snowboarding's Giant Slalom at the 1998 Olympics, Ruby also took silver in dual Giant Slalom in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT. Ruby is a World Champion six times over, with two titles in Giant Slalom, one in parallel Giant Slalom, and three in Boardercross. She enjoyed 67 wins and 127 podiums on the World Cup circuit. She also finished second in the 2004 Winter X Games Boardercross at Aspen.

"I'm a little bit overwhelmed by the news and boggled by how fast a vibrant life like that can end," says former World Cup and Olympic Alpine Snowboarding competitor Lisa Kosglow. "[Ruby] was such an amazing athlete and such a go getter. She wasn't one to sit back and rest on her laurels with her success. She was never a slouch when it came to pushing her limits."