He started climbing aged seven in Fontainebleau, France with his grandfather, a mountaineer, and also joined the youth section of the French Alpine Club. There he met other young climbers such as Catherine Destivelle. In 1982, he climbed his first 8a, Fritz the Cat, at Saussois and in 1985 climbed his first 8b, Les braves gens, in the Verdon Gorge. Between 1986 and 1998 he participated in international competitions, finishing third twice and fourth twice in the final standings of the World Cup. In 2008, aged 47, twelve years after he had last climbed an 8c graded climb, he climbed two 8c routes.

Jean-Baptiste Tribout, better known as J.B. Tribout (born 14 December 1961) is a French rock climber and sport climber.