Beyond Mountains, There Are Mountains: The Historic Journey of Haiti’s First Winter Paralympian

The Haitian proverb “Dèyè mòn, gen mòn”—beyond mountains, there are mountains—is more than a geographic observation of the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean; it is a profound philosophical framework for the Haitian experience. It suggests that once one overcomes a great obstacle, another inevitably looms, requiring a perpetual state of resilience and ascent. For Ralf Etienne, a 36-year-old investment banker turned history-making athlete, this proverb has been the literal and figurative roadmap of his life. On March 13, 2026, amidst the jagged, snow-dusted peaks of the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Etienne transformed this proverb into a global victory. By competing in the Men’s Giant Slalom Standing event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, he became Haiti’s first-ever Winter Paralympian and the first standing Para-alpine skier to represent any Caribbean nation on the Paralympic stage.

Etienne’s journey to the starting gate in Italy did not begin on the slopes, but rather in the suffocating darkness of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. On January 12 of that year, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 tremor leveled Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, claiming the lives of over 300,000 people and displacing millions. At the time, Etienne was a 20-year-old entrepreneur with a rising reputation. He had launched a successful national magazine at 16, rubbing elbows with Haiti’s elite and cultural icons. He admits now that his early success had fostered a sense of self-importance. That afternoon, while standing atop a building in one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods and contemplating a property purchase, the world began to shake. Within seconds, the structure collapsed, and Etienne was buried under tons of concrete rubble.

Trapped upside down for eight hours, Etienne was confronted with the fragility of existence. He recalls the haunting image of a 13-year-old boy crushed just inches away from him. In those hours of isolation, believing he was about to die, Etienne underwent a spiritual and psychological transformation. He realized that the fame and material success he had chased were meaningless in the face of mortality. He made a vow: if he survived, he would dedicate his life to service. When he was finally pulled from the debris, the physical cost of his survival was the loss of his left leg. In a country where the healthcare infrastructure had been almost entirely obliterated, Etienne faced a grueling recovery. It was during this period that he met Dr. Gregory Adamson, an American orthopedic surgeon who became a lifelong mentor and helped him secure a prosthetic leg in the United States.

Etienne’s post-earthquake life was defined by a relentless drive to fulfill his vow of service while proving that disability is not a limitation. He moved to Indiana to study pre-med, driven by a desire to help other amputees, before pivoting to an MBA and a career in investment banking. Even as he climbed the corporate ladder in the U.S. and later London, his heart remained tethered to Haiti. He founded "Rebuilding Haiti," a non-profit organization that has provided critical humanitarian aid, including the distribution of 40,000 pairs of corrective glasses to those without eye care and repairing homes destroyed by the devastating Hurricane Matthew in 2016. His philosophy as an investment banker echoed his humanitarian goals: focusing on impact investments to empower underserved communities.

The transition from the boardroom to the professional ski circuit was as improbable as it was rapid. Despite Haiti’s mountainous terrain, snow is non-existent in the Caribbean, and Etienne did not strap into a ski until 2024. During a trip with friends, he discovered that skiing offered a rare sense of physical liberation. On the slopes, he could shed the prosthetic leg he relied on for daily mobility. By skiing on one leg—a discipline known as "three-tracking"—he found he could reach speeds of 80 kilometers per hour, experiencing a level of autonomy he hadn’t felt since before the earthquake. This freedom soon evolved into a competitive ambition.

Etienne’s professional training began in earnest at the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, a world-renowned hub for adaptive sports. It was there that he met Monte Meier, a legendary five-time Paralympic skier for Team USA. Meier saw a raw, untapped potential in Etienne’s balance and determination. When Etienne jokingly asked if he could become a Paralympian, Meier’s serious response—"I think you have a shot"—ignited a two-year odyssey to the 2026 Games. However, the path was riddled with "mountains." The financial burden of elite skiing is immense, and Etienne largely self-funded his training and travel. Furthermore, geopolitical shifts and restrictive U.S. immigration policies regarding Haitian nationals forced Etienne to relocate to London to ensure he could maintain access to the European racing circuit without travel interruptions.

The 2026 Milano Cortina Games represented a watershed moment for Haitian athletics. Etienne was joined in Italy by Richardson Viano, Haiti’s first Olympic alpine skier, and Stevenson Savart, the nation’s first Olympic cross-country skier. Together, they formed a small but symbolic "Snow Team Haiti" that challenged the world’s perception of what a Caribbean nation could achieve in winter sports. Their presence was amplified by the aesthetic contribution of Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean, who designed the team’s uniforms. Jean, known for her "ethical fashion" that incorporates Haitian artisanal techniques, ensured that the athletes carried the visual heritage of their nation—bold, sophisticated, and resilient—into the opening ceremonies at the Arena di Verona.

For Etienne, the significance of his performance in the Giant Slalom transcended his time on the clock. Having skied only about 80 days in his entire life prior to the Games, his presence on the world stage was a testament to "Haitian excellence." He used his platform to speak directly to the youth of Haiti, who have faced a decade of compounding crises, including the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, subsequent gang-led instability, and further natural disasters. "I want to show the world a different version of Haiti," Etienne told reporters in Cortina. "Not chaos, gangs, and political instability, but sophistication, discipline, resilience, and hard work."

His message, "geography is not destiny," resonates deeply within the Haitian diaspora. While the Haitian government’s support for such endeavors is often limited by domestic crises, the diaspora has stepped in as a vital backbone. Etienne’s journey was bolstered by a $25,000 donation from a prominent Haitian business leader, a gesture that Etienne cites as proof of the community’s collective will to see Haiti represented in elite spaces. This support network is a modern manifestation of the "kombit"—the traditional Haitian practice of communal labor where neighbors help one another to achieve a common goal.

As Etienne stood at the finish line in Cortina, celebrated by volunteers and fellow athletes alike, he reflected on the irony of his journey. The loss of his leg, once viewed as the ultimate tragedy, had become the catalyst for his greatest achievement. It had shifted his focus from the self-centered pursuit of fame to a mission of global representation and service. By conquering the "mountains" of physical disability, financial barriers, and geographic improbability, Ralf Etienne has provided a new blueprint for Haitian youth. He has proven that while there will always be more mountains to climb, the view from the top is defined not by the height of the peak, but by the strength of the person who refused to stay in the valley. His story is no longer one of a survivor of a tragedy, but of a victor who used the rubble of his past to build a bridge to a historic future. Through his discipline on the Alpine slopes and his leadership in the global financial sector, Etienne remains a living embodiment of the Haitian spirit: unyielding, sophisticated, and perpetually ascending toward the next horizon.