Andr�-Pierre �D�d� Rhem, 35 years old and a much loved member of the Chamonix guides company has been killed by an avalanche on the glacier du Toula on the Italian side of Mont Blanc.

Although an all-round mountaineer he was best known for his fantastic achievements on snowboard and in particular his famous descent of the north face of the Triolet (Mont Blanc) in 1995 with J�r�me Ruby.

He died yesterday at 11h30 whilst descending a very steep couloir under Point Helbronner. He was with three friends at 3,460 meters when he triggered a �slab� avalanche which took him down the couloir which ended in cliffs.

In an article on the �fallen of Chamonix� in Le Monde last Sunday journalist Patricia Jolly wrote: "D�d� and J�r�me were at first regarded with circumspection by their peers, today, in their thirties they are the most respected guides, maybe because they knew when to take their feet of the gas pedal they are still around to tell us of their experiences of mountains." Two days later D�d� was taken by the mountains he loved and grew up with.