Philippe Ribière’s story began in 1977 in Fort de France, Martinica. The fruit of a forbidden love story, he was born with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, which caused serious deformities. He was abandoned at the hospital, where he spent the first four years of his life, being subjected to several operations to his limbs. He was then adopted by a family in the south of France, where at the age of 6 he began climbing, just like any healthy child. At the age of 16 his career as a mountaineer took off. Despite having shorter arms than usual and deformed hands, Philippe has become an exceptional climber, participating in the first ParaClimbing World Championships in Arco in 2011.