Bertrand Roche

Bertrand Roche, better known by his nicknames Zébulon or Zeb, is a French mountaineer, high-mountain guide, and paraglider pilot born on March 4, 1973. A major figure in free flight and Himalayan mountaineering, he made a name for himself at a very young age through ascents and high-altitude paragliding flights that have left their mark on mountaineering history. From a deeply mountainous background, Bertrand grew up alongside his father, Jean-Noël "Pap's" Roche, a renowned mountaineer and paraglider pilot, with whom he discovered mountaineering, ski touring, and paragliding at a very young age. At 11, he had already reached the summit of Mont Blanc, then quickly followed up with other major climbs, demonstrating an early adventurous spirit always on the move, hence his nickname, Zébulon. As a teenager, he undertook numerous expeditions: ski touring across the Alps, exploring great walls like the Nose on El Capitan, and his first major trips to the Himalayas. In 1990, at just 17, he ...