Brooke Raboutou: All in the Family

At a young age Brooke is already following in the footsteps of her family. During the last week she was able to quickly rack up two 13a’s in less than a week…and she is only 9 years old.

What 9 year old spends her time cliff side, wandering through tufas attempting to find the best clipping stance 90 feet off the deck? Well, when your mother, father, and older brother all climb 14b and spend more time roped up then they do watching T.V. your options are limited.  We caught up with Brooke between burns and just asked her to fill us on how climbing is “all in the family”.

 

 

DPM: You have been on a tear. Give us a recap of your last week.

Brooke:  Well yesterday I did Big Bang which is a 7c+ and about a week before that I did Octopus which is also 7c+.

 

DPM:  What is your training regimen like?

Brooke: I train mostly in the winter in the indoor climbing gyms. I train with my team three/four days per week. They encourage me and I encourage them. We push each other to climb harder. I also do gymnastics and I think that helps my climbing too. In the summer I climb mostly outside.

 

DPM:   Do you think it helps or hurts you having a family that all excel at climbing hard?

Brooke: It definitely helps me in my climbing because if they do a route then later I will do the same route. My Brother suggests a lot of routes for me because he has already done them and he knows what I can do!

 

DPM: Where does your pressure lie? From family, community, or yourself?

Brooke: I don't really have or put pressure on myself. I just like to climb and have fun with my family, my team, and myself. 

 

DPM: Climbing can take up a lot of time, and being so young do you feel you’re missing out on things that your friends are doing but you miss because of climbing?

Brooke: I think what I do is more fun than most of the other things I could be doing. My best friends do gymnastics and or climbing.

 

 

DPM: Your latest 5. 13a, describe the route for us and your crux.

Brooke: Big Bang was very hard for me. I worked it 3 times before I sent it. There were a lot of big moves and lock offs. The main crux (for me) was kind of funky because you had to go from a pinch into an undercling, which was strange. At the end there's a beautiful orange colonnet that you pinch to go to the anchors. 

 

DPM: Who do you look up to as a climber and why?

Brooke: I look up to my family for a lot of different reasons. Mostly because they are good climbers, like my Mom, who won 4 world cups in a row. My Dad was a French champion and was the first person to onsight an 8b. My brother helps me because he encourages me, and we work together. He is also very very strong. I'm also lucky to have my mom as my coach. Another climber that inspires me is Alex Puccio, because she is so strong.

 

DPM: If someone said, you can't climb again, what is the one sport you may choose to replace the void?

Brooke: I would choose gymnastics.