Roch became a member of the Swiss Alpine Club in 1928 and later became the president of its Geneva section. While a university student at Reed College in Oregon in 1931, Roch was a member of the Cascade Ski Club. On April 26, 1931, Roch and two fellow members of the Cascade Ski Club, Hjalmar Hvam and Arne Stene, became the first to descend on skis from the summit of Mount Hood.