Travel, climbing, passion: trip reports by three athletes. EP2: Philippe Ribière

The Petzl RocTrip 2014 took to the road in September and October looking to explore the cliffs and crags throughout Eastern Europe, to enjoy a wide variety climbing types and styles. Through trip reports from Klemen Bečan, Philippe Ribière, and Mümin Karabaş, discover how these athletes from Team Petzl turn their passion into a genuine voyage.

The nomadic Philippe Ribière climbing in the Balkans

Through climbing are you able to travel a lot?
I have always wanted a van in order to hit the road! Two years after I started climbing, I also started to travel. Now it’s been almost 17/18 years that I’ve been roaming all over the planet. My appetite for traveling has increased since 2008, when I started to Deep Water Solo in Mallorca with my good friend, Laurent Trillet, who has been a longtime route setter for the Natural Games. He greatly influenced my vision and approach to traveling.
In 2009, I journeyed throughout Europe on what I called the "2009 Evolution Tour": a trip through every country in Eastern Europe, taking a particularly close look at how accessible climbing is for people with a disability. Thanks to Petzl, I had a van at my disposal for the trip. This also marked the beginning of my nomadic lifestyle, when I turned in the keys to my apartment. Since then I have had no permanent residence.

My favorite destination is still Slovenia, the first place I really became attached to. Slovenia is where the director of my film, "Wild One," lives. I also discovered Prilep in 2011, and in less than 10 seconds I knew that I had to convince the Petzl RocTrip to go there. At the time, I had no idea of what Erwan had in mind. I love the atmosphere in the Balkans, it has an "Emir Kustorika" like décor to it. There is a huge difference between what countries in Eastern Europe are really like and what we think we know about them in France. Time has not erased history so quickly, and the walls still bear the scars of yesteryear…

Prilep was the stage that brought a little sun back to the Petzl RocTrip, after the torrential downpours that soaked the first two stages. The area is huge and the boulders made of spectacular granite, I mean what’s not to like about Prilep!

How do you search for new places to climb?
If you take Prilep as an example, Rok Sisernik, a Slovenian climber, discovered the area, not me. One usually hears about a spot through word of mouth. Rok knew someone near Prilep who told him that he should "come take a look, the area has potential." In 2009 he and a few friends hopped in their van and drove to Prilep to explore the area. During the summer of that same year Rok Sisernik died in a highline accident. He and I only met once, but several friends and I decided that we would continue what he had started. Since then, we travel to Prilep on a regular basis to clean and develop new routes.

Otherwise, I also operate quite a bit via word of mouth, through meeting people, and other various discussions. I do a little research on the web and then go for it!

Traveling is the natural next step to my climbing. I have already accomplished what I needed to in climbing through competition. I worked for 12 years to create an additional paraclimbing category at the climbing World Championships. I’m proud to be the first "disabled" Frenchman to have won a medal for the French national team at the 2011 World Championships. I sent my first 7A (V6) boulder problem, and now I would like to develop and discover new bouldering areas, as well as put up new routes, before taking another turn in my career towards becoming a coach. Traveling has allowed me to explore and discover.

Do you have any new destinations in your plans?
I would like to explore Columbia, Brazil, and why not Greenland and Iceland. But for the time being I’m focused mostly on Columbia.

Sometimes I’m also guided by my fans, who invite me to come climbing in their area. I’m not always able to, but sometimes this approach leads to a pleasant surprise. This is how I discovered an incredible climbing area in Romania.

What is your preferred way to travel?
I usually travel alone in a van. I need my independence, to be self-sufficient. By being alone, you open yourself up much more to others. You don’t necessarily meet people so easily when traveling with someone else.
For me, the great thing about the Petzl RocTrip is that my climbing level (I don’t consider myself to be a high-end climber) allows me to more easily meet other climbers. We climb and chat together, and we experience the trip in a similar fashion.

How do you manage your climbing gear when traveling?
I have everything in my van. But when I have to fly, I take much less gear with me. In this case I rely on locals, or I meet up with a group.

What are you looking for when you travel?
I’m not really looking for the "roots" side of things, since that’s what I experience all year long. Besides, I don’t really like the expression, "roots," it’s thrown around too much. Traveling reminds me that I’m just a small spec in this great big world. Simple acts like gathering wood or looking for water really put things in perspective. Nature reminds us every season of every year just how small we really are.
Traveling also allows me to talk about respecting one’s environment. This has become kind of a big deal, don’t you think? The best way to show your respect for nature is being able to constantly adapt to your local environment.

Conferences are a way to get the word out when traveling
During the "Evolution Tour," I made presentations at French embassies to build more awareness about the disabled. My film, "Wild One," was then released. Ironically, I don’t talk much about climbing. Rather, I explain where I came from and what climbing has brought to my life. My disability strips me of roughly 80% of my physical strength. I learned to turn this into an asset, to start from nothing and then to become someone. I found my place by adhering to a core set of values: respect for others, dignity, confidence, and communication. For me this is my foundation.
My biological parents abandoned me at birth, and then my adoptive family abandoned me. Since I was little I have always believed that a stork brought me into this world.

Climbing is my lifeline, and the nomadic lifestyle my dignity, my confidence, my respect.
Often after a conference, people come up to me and say, "Wow, your life is amazing." I reply that this is because I have chosen to lead my life this way, and that I don’t want any regrets. It is this choice and my nomadic lifestyle that provides me with a more objective point of view on life.

What advice do you have for climbers?
I’m not really good at giving advice, but here’s a thought, "Freedom is a gift that costs nothing."