Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou (born 8 August 1963), is an American

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

and rock climbing coach. In

competition lead climbing A climbing competition (or comp) is usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are three main types of climbing competition: lead, speed, and bouldering. In lead climbing, the competitors start at the bottom of a route and must c ...

, she is a 4-time

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

champion (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995), and won the biennial

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1995. She is the third-ever woman in history to redpoint a graded

sport climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors ...

route. She has coached several competition climbers, including Megan Mascarenas,

Margo Hayes Margo Hayes (born February 11, 1998) is an American professional rock climber from Boulder, Colorado. In 2016, she won both the Bouldering and Lead Climbing events at the World Youth Championships in Guangzhou ( China). In 2017, she became th ...

and her daughter, Brooke Raboutou.

Climbing career

Competition climbing

Erbesfield won the world's first Climbing World Cup (Leeds in 1989) as a relative unknown. She quickly gained sponsorship and traveled around the world to compete on the new World Cup circuit. She went on to win the overall title for four consecutive World Cups from 1992 to 1995.

Rock climbing

Coaching

She founded the climbing gym ABC Kids Climbing in Boulder, Colorado which focuses on developing agility, balance, and coordination in young climbers. Many of its graduates are climbing 5.14, and performing well in national and international climbing competitions. Two of the four American athletes who qualified for the

2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in sport climbing, Brooke Raboutou and Colin Duffy, were both members of Team ABC, which also produced

, the first woman to climb a route, and Natalia Grossman, the 2021 bouldering world champion. In 2018 she was inducted into the Boulder Sports Hall of fame.

Personal life

Erbesfield married French rock climber in 1993, and their two children, Brooke Raboutou and

Shawn Raboutou Shawn Raboutou (born April 19, 1998) is an American rock climber. In 2022, he became the first person to climb the bouldering grade of on more than one occasion. Early life Shawn Raboutou was born in Boulder, Colorado on April 19, 1998. He is t ...

, are themselves, accomplished rock climbers.

Rankings

Climbing World Cup

Climbing World Championships

Number of medals in the Climbing World Cup

Lead

Notable Climbs

Redpointed

: :* ''Welcome to Tijuana'' - Rodellar ( ESP) - July 2012 - Her first 8c, at age 49 becoming the oldest American to climb the grade : :* ''Ixeia'' - Rodellar ( ESP) - June 2012 :* ''Tripa de Conejo'' - Rodellar ( ESP) - June 2012 :* ''God's Own Stone'' -

Red River Gorge The Red River Gorge is a canyon system on the Red River in east-central Kentucky. Geologically it is part of the Pottsville Escarpment. The gorge lies within the Daniel Boone National Forest and was subsequently designated the Red River Gorge G ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

) - April 1, 2012 - At age 48 :* ''Bad Attitude'' -

Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val (; oc, Sent Antonin) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Having played an influential and somewhat bellicose role in the history of the region from the 12th to the ...

( FRA) - August 27, 2008 - At age 45 :* ''Attention vos Regards'' - Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val (FRA) - 1993 :* ''Silence Vertical'' -

Troubat Troubat is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. File:Troubat église vue depuis château comtes Comminges (3).jpg, File:Plan de la grotte de Sainte Araille.png, File:Entrée de la Grotte de Troubat - Vallé ...

( FRA) - 1993 - World's third-ever female ascent of an 8b+ route.

On-sight NOTOC This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related to rock climbing and mountaineering. The specific terms used can vary considerably between different English-speaking countries; many of the phrases ...
ed

: :* ''Overdose'' -

Lourmarin Lourmarin (; oc, Lormarin) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Lourmarinois''. Geography Lourmarin is located in the French region of Provence, ...

( FRA) - 1993 - World's first-ever female onsight of an 8a/+ route. : :* ''Ramponeau'' -

( FRA) - 1992

Bibliography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erbesfield-Raboutou, Robyn American rock climbers American female climbers Living people American sportswomen 1963 births 21st-century American women IFSC Climbing World Championships medalists IFSC Climbing World Cup overall medalists American competition climbers