Barmasse was born into a family of alpinists from Valtournenche - his father, Marco Barmasse, is one of the most well-known alpinists or mountaineers from the Aosta Valley - Hervé is the fourth generation of alpine guides in his family. He became a ski instructor in 1996, snowboard instructor in 1997 and has been a Matterhorn alpine guide since 2000 and national alpine guide instructor since 2007.