More Climbing Deaths in Chamonix, Including Olympic Snowboarder Karin Ruby

Text by Tetsuhiko Endo

ADVENTURE regrets to report that Karin Ruby, former Olympic gold medalist in the snowboarding giant slalom event and 6 time world champion died earlier today in a climbing accident on Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France (read the story on ESPN.com). Ruby, who retired from professional snowboarding in 2006, was 31 years old and training to become one of the famed Chamonix mountain guides. The accident occurred as she was leading a group down Mont Blanc and some of the clients she was roped to fell into a deep crevasse.

Earlier this year, Rob Gauntlett, one of our 2008 Adventurers of the Year, died in a climbing accident in the Mont Blanc region.