Climb	Type	Suggested Grade	Date of Ascent	Notes
Box Therapy	Boulder	V15/V16 – 8C/8C+	13th Oct 2023	Brooke’s first V15/V16 route. Originally graded a V16 and FFA’d by Katie Lamb, Brooke thought it a V15 grade was more appropriate for the route. Instagram Post
Muscle Car	Boulder	V14/8B+	3rd May 2020	Brooke’s first V14. Video and Instagram Post
Jade	Boulder	V14/8B+	15th Aug 2020	Video
Trieste	Boulder	V14/8B+	Nov 2021	Video
Iur	Boulder	V14/8B+	29th Jan 2022	Instagram Post
The Traphouse	Boulder	V14/8B+	May 2023	Sent in a day. Video
The Shining	Boulder	V13/8B	16th Jul 2020	Instagram Post
Euro Roof Low	Boulder	V13/8B	24th May 2021	8a Article
Heritage	Boulder	V13/8B	Jan 2022	Video
La Proue	Boulder	V13/8B	15th Jan 2022	First female ascent. Video and Instagram Post
Evil Backwards	Boulder	V13/8B	14th Jun 2022	8a Article
Euro Trash	Boulder	V12/8A+	24th Jun 2021	Flash Video

Learning The Ropes

Brooke Raboutou was born in Boulder, Colorado, and comes from a lineage of legendary climbers. Her mother, Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, blazed trails as a four-time Overall World Cup winner and one of the few women to conquer 5.14a. 

Meanwhile her father, Didier Raboutou, was one of the pioneers of international climbing competitions, having participated in SportRoccia, the first-ever event of its kind. He went on to secure victories at prestigious competitions like Arco Rock Master and those held in Vaulx-en-Velin and Bercy, France, solidifying his status as one of the greatest climbers of his time. It’s no surprise that Brooke developed an interest in climbing from a young age. Early photos show her scaling the wall in a harness and diapers!

Growing up, Brooke had a distinct advantage over her peers – her parents own ABC Climbing, a facility that trains young climbers. She spent countless hours in the gym, honing her skills and learning from some of the best climbers in the world. Her brother, Shawn Raboutou, who is a V17 crusher, was another source of inspiration and motivation for her.

Under the guidance of her parents and the experienced coaches at ABC Climbing, Brooke quickly began to excel in the sport. She started competing in climbing competitions at an early age and quickly rose through the ranks, earning numerous titles and accolades along the way. Today, she is widely regarded as one of the best climbers in the world, and her impressive performances have earned her a spot on the US Olympic Climbing Team.

Competition Climbing

IFSC and National Competitions

Brooke Raboutou’s competition career is nothing short of impressive. She began competing at a young age and made a name for herself. Over the years, she has participated in numerous national and international competitions, securing an impressive number of podium finishes.

In 2016, Brooke won her first boulder Youth World Championship medal, a bronze, in Guangzhou, China and came second in lead. She continued to dominate the competition circuit, stepping on 16 podiums between 2015 and 2022. She also came first in the Pan American for lead, combined, and boulder in 2017.

More recently, she won gold in the first IFSC World Cup of this year (2023) in Tokyo, which was a monumental achievement for her.

Tokyo Olympics

Brooke came 9th in the 2019 Hachioji World Championships, meaning her impressive performances earned her a spot on the US Olympic Climbing Team, and in 2021, she competed in the inaugural Olympic Climbing event in Tokyo. 

She narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in fifth place behind Janja Garnbret, Miho Nonaka, Akiyo Noguchi and Aleksandra Miroslaw. Her Olympic debut was a momentous occasion and a testament to her skill and dedication. Her best event was bouldering, where she came second behind Janja. 

What let her down was speed where she was placed seventh overall. She slipped on her first route and lost to Janja but beat Seo Chae-Hyun who had the slowest time. Her lead performance was going well until she slipped while reaching for a pocket, placing her sixth. Like with many climbers, training for three disciplines was not easy.

In an interview she did with Gripped she stated, “With the Combined format there is so much to train. Even if you just choose one discipline, there is so much to train. It always felt like I could be doing more, even though I couldn’t. Bodily and mentally, you can’t do it all. That was hard to navigate, for sure. I learned so much about how to train that format and it will be cool for the next format to see what I want to keep and what I want to change, what worked and what didn’t.”. 

With numerous medals to her name and a bright future ahead of her, Brooke Raboutou has established herself as one of the most exciting climbers in the world today.

Education

In addition to her demanding training regimen, Brooke Raboutou also prioritized her education. During her childhood, she enrolled in a charter school that merged two years of curriculum into one classroom. After completing just one year in the kindergarten/first-grade class, she advanced ahead of her classmates by one year. At the age of 17, Brooke began pursuing a degree in business at the University of San Diego, marking her first year of college. Although, in 2020, she took a pause from her studies so she could train and compete in the Olympics.

Notable Ascents

Brooke has absolutely dominated the competition circuits, but it doesn’t just end there for her. Brooke’s exceptional climbing abilities off the artificial wall were evident at a young age, and she has since gone on to achieve numerous milestones in her climbing career. 

At just nine years old, she ticked a V10 (7C+) and became the youngest female to climb a 5.13b (8a). This was soon followed by her sending a V11 (8A) at the age of 10, and becoming the youngest female to climb a 5.13d (8b). Brooke continued her ascent to the top, setting yet another record at age 11 when she became the youngest female to send a 5.14b (8c). 

Brooke continued to push her limits after sending four V14s, with Muscle Car being the first in 2020. She’s also sent Lur in Ticino, Switzerland.

More recently, Brooke became the second woman to send Box Therapy, just two weeks after Katie Lamb made the first FFA. Brooke however made the decision to downgrade the route to a V15 citing that ‘I feel like V15 is an appropriate grade especially if I compare it to some of the benchmark V15’s I’ve tested.’

FAQs