Urko Carmona Barandiaran was born in Barcelona in March 1981. His early years were spent moving across the globe,from Guadalajara to the Canary Islands, Galicia to India, before finally making Alicante his home at age twelve.

At fourteen, a summer at the Lluís Estasen hut in the Catalan Pyrenees introduced him to climbing, alongside Joan Martí, the hut’s caretaker at the time. He quickly fell in love with long, classic routes across Catalonia, Huesca, and Alicante.

At sixteen, a serious traffic accident cost him his right leg. The road to recovery was long and challenging, but Urko’s determination never wavered. “Once I realized not only that climbing was still possible, but that I could continue improving, I knew I had to keep going,” he recalls.

Over the past two decades, Urko has climbed with relentless enthusiasm and steady progress. The accident, rather than stopping him, became a driving force: he has redpointed routes at the eighth grade and claimed three para-climbing national championships.

Today, Urko continues to embrace the mountains, climbing, and competition with the same energy and determination, living by the belief that anything is achievable.