Beth Rodden Quizzes Brooke Raboutou on Motivation, Balance, and Superstition

I grew up with posters of Robyn Erbesfield in my bedroom. Once I started to compete and travel for climbing, I even had the privilege of staying at her home in France and training with her in Boulder—a real full circle moment to climb with a hero. I moved away from Boulder when Robyn’s  kids were still quite young. But like any fan of climbing, I’ve loved watching her daughter, Brooke Raboutou, climb. My family regularly watches the World Cups and she’s always a favorite of ours.

I was honored when Climbing asked me to serve as a judge for the Golden Piton awards, and even more honored when they asked me to interview Brooke. Her ascent of Excalibur was an easy choice for us as judges, as it represents such a monumental achievement for the sport of climbing.

Interviewing her was a fun exercise—for once, I got to be on the other side of the questions. I also had a mile-long list of things I wanted to know. This interview quickly turned into a fun conversation about straddling the worlds between comps and outdoors. We talked about motivation, goals, lucky clothing, upcoming climbing trips to New Mexico, and everything in between. Here is a pared down version of my conversation with Brooke.

Beth Rodden’s conversation with Brooke Raboutou

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and concision. 

On the pressures and camaraderie of competition

Beth Rodden: Since I did comps and then went outdoors, I thought I might understand where you’re coming from. But honestly, I feel like your generation is so different. You’re so much less neurotic! From the outside, you all seem so much more well-rounded than previous generations.

Brooke Raboutou: I don’t know if that’s true as a generation as a whole. My brother’s maybe the biggest outcast—he’s the most chill person ever. But a lot of us climbers—and especially comp climbers—are really neurotic for sure.

Rodden: You live with people that you compete with and you seem like you’re genuinely friends, whereas my generation might only stay at a comp together. How does that work? You’re not weirded out, like, “Oh, they train more than me,” or “They’re getting more sleep than me”?

Raboutou: It can definitely be hard to not compare when you’re competing in the same realm in the same world and constantly around people that do the same thing and have the same goals. But for me, it’s really just person-based. I definitely can’t live with everybody.

I’m not the most competitive person in the literal sense. But I am really competitive with myself. I really enjoy learning from other people and connecting on shared passions and being motivated together. So that has been awesome—living with other people that share those motivations, but have a balance for other things in life. Climbing—especially comp climbing—can be really isolating. Having people to share the struggles with and the motivation—the highs, the lows, the debriefs—is really important.

Recently, I’ve been living with Cloe Coscoy. We are very different people, but we appreciate that we need different things and can support each other. But being able to even just voice that, like, “Wow, you ran a marathon this morning and I feel like I’ve done nothing,” or “I’m struggling mentally and I need a little support” … just things like that.

Rodden: Even your ability to say that—“I’m struggling mentally”—is such a huge step that your generation has taken. Especially to be able to say that to a competitor. When you’re balancing comps and outdoor climbing, do you have different people that fill the cup for comps and then different people that fill the cup for outdoor climbing?

Raboutou: I look to so many different people for filling my cup in that sense and just learning from them and being able to connect on those passions. In terms of support, we’re able to all do that together through our different projects and lenses, even if they’re not shared. But the comp world and outdoor don’t mix as much as I’d like. I wish there were more people that wanted to do both because that can feel hard.

I’ve been on long trips and everybody’s just training [when I was working Excalibur]. I know that it’s December and comps start in April and this was my plan. But I feel like I should be somewhere else, training harder. I should be on plastic. Or the opposite. I’m in the gym and I get a FaceTime call from my brother and he’s in Yosemite with the best people and they just got to climb all day and it’s gorgeous. And I’m like, “What am I doing in the gym right now?” There’s always going to be that. There are too many things I want to explore and people I want to spend time with to do it all at once. But at the same time, I don’t want to give either of those up.

On balancing competitive climbing and outdoor sending

Rodden: Do you look at a year consciously or unconsciously and decide that you’re going to devote more time to climbing outdoors? Or this year, you’re just going all in on comps? Or do you wait to see how you feel?

Raboutou: In the past four or five years, it’s been a lot more planned. I work with Chris Danielson as my coach. He’s my biggest life mentor and helps me a lot with all these questions. Being able to trust our plan, but also be able to adapt. Especially with the Olympics now, it’s not only that comps are one day, but four years out. That means there’s qualification and all the World Cups. I want to be able to do them all, but I also know that I’ll be burnt out if I don’t plan ahead. After Paris, I knew I wanted 2025 to be a little more of my outdoor year. To be able to focus on going on trips and not feeling like I’m behind or wasting training time.

That was really awesome. It was a pretty big exploration year, where I got to dive into projects that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Comp-wise, I’m actually doing my planning literally today as we speak. So, I don’t really have answers yet. I know I want to do more World Cups this year and more comps. But I still want to climb outside, so it’s kind of a transition year. Then I’ll probably get a little more into comps. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to just do comps and not outdoors anymore.

My truest passion of climbing is outdoor climbing, but I love the space that competition climbing provides me to push myself and have those big goals. Right now, the two work together, but I don’t know if that dynamic will continue to shift.

Rodden: Do you see comps as—I don’t want to say a younger person’s sport, but do you see it as, “This is what I’m going to do for a bit and then I’m going to use it as a springboard later, like in my mid to late-30s, to be able to push it more outdoors.” Or do you see it as just being compatible hand-in-hand for a long time? For my generation, most everybody competed and then when you physically weren’t doing your best, you transition to bouldering or sport climbing, then eventually crack climbing and big wall climbing. Less and less fitness based, and more skill or knowledge-based. Do you think about it that way?

Raboutou: Even two years ago, I thought about it pretty differently from how I view it now. I wanted to compete for the longest amount of time possible. I’ve always seen my goal as being the best possible for the longest possible. So longevity is key and not trying to do things just for tomorrow. I just want to be able to climb forever in that way. But more and more, I realize that, especially mentally, comps are really draining. That amount of focus does take away a sense of freedom—of being able to have experiences and live in different ways that aren’t so tied to a single day or competition or disappointment and, of course, success. So I do see that shifting. Outdoor climbing is my future.

Rodden: When you’re looking from a macro lens at what you get out of comp climbing versus outdoor climbing, is there much overlap?

Raboutou: Something I’ve realized is that I love training. Even when I spent my year outside and on longer trips, I was like, “Wait, I actually can’t just sit still.” I am neurotic, especially when I am with my brother, who’s just the chillest person ever. I’m like “I want to go train.” I want to feel like I’m working hard and progressing.

Something I really noticed with Excalibur and the projecting process, is that the discipline and focus that I learned from competitions was really transferable and really necessary. But then there was so much that I also had to let go of. Wanting to control things that you can’t control. And being able to sit with the unknown, whether it’s weather, skin, or just needing more time.

On intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation—and climbing in the spotlight

Rodden: I feel like your generation is super comfortable with being open, with sharing, right? Obviously, it comes with the job of social media now. But in climbing comps, you’re able to maintain a little anonymity. No one’s with you in iso with the camera on you. No one’s interviewing you about how you’re feeling right before you’re climbing.

Raboutou: They’re starting to do that now actually,

Rodden: Oh, really?

Raboutou: Which is crazy.

Rodden: That’s a bummer. Maybe this question isn’t really relevant then. But with the different pressures of comp and outdoors, do you prefer one or the other?

Raboutou: That’s a really interesting question and something I’ve definitely grappled with a lot recently. How much to share? How much to keep private? Genuinely, what do I want and how much is a responsibility of my role as a professional athlete? Because I am a pretty private person. I don’t post every day on my stories like this is what I’m thinking today, this is what I’m eating, this is how much I slept–that’s just not me. Sometimes it’s fun to share the creative side, but social media definitely weighs on me. Sometimes I’m like, “Wait, is this my job?”

As far as people being in your space competition-wise, that has been a huge learning point for me. There’s a lot more alone time in competition climbing, or at least I take that for myself. I like to have my mornings where I do meditation and mindfulness, just slowing the pace before competition so I can focus. To the outside world, that’s more accepted. It’s like, “Oh yeah, you have a competition coming up. Makes sense if you’re not going to go out and party, or if you’re going to spend more time alone.” And I kind of love that. I love having that space for myself.

On the flip side, not having that space can feel overwhelming once I’ve gotten used to it. But that’s what I also love about outdoor climbing—I am often alone in nature or with a few good friends. That feels like a much more pure space than the competitions. But as the times are changing, there’s often video cameras and people watching you climb.

Rodden: What did that look like for you on Excalibur?

Raboutou: I loved my process on Excalibur because it was just me and the filmmakers. I was maybe even selfish about what I wanted documented because I wanted to feel like I was doing it for myself, not for a camera, not for anybody else, not for making history. There was a lot of grappling with how much do I want to share and how much to keep to myself? I hired the filmers to come out and I was like, “I just want you to video my send attempts.” It was really hard to make [the film] because I didn’t have the footage that I wanted to share about the process, because I didn’t want it to be just about the send.

But I really kept my experience for myself. That meant not having the visuals to accompany the message that I wanted to portray. That got me thinking a lot about how to do future projects. I became really good friends with these videographers and I trusted them and they came every day to support me. I knew that they weren’t there waiting for me to send. They wanted me to do it for myself. By the end, I was more comfortable around them. It wasn’t so separate: this is video and being recorded, and this is me and my experience. The two can live together. But it’s hard for me to feel that presence and not think about it.

Rodden: I’m curious about how you said your intrinsic motivation was to do Excalibur for yourself and you didn’t look at it as a first. I remember I definitely liked to find routes that inspired me. But I think especially now that I’m so far out of it, I’d be lying if I said that being the first whatever wasn’t a cherry on top. Do you take that into consideration when you look at your projects?

Raboutou: Absolutely, but not so concrete. It just happened really fast. My brother had tried it before and he was like, “I think you’d love this climb. You got to go try it.” I was like, “That’s crazy.” I hadn’t rope climbed outside since I was 13, but I was like, “I love Arco, I’ll come with you. Immediately, when I tried it, I was like, “Oh my god, like I’m obsessed with this.” It’s super hard, but I feel confident on it. I feel strong. It just felt like this perfect line. I was like, “Wait, is it possible? I’m not sure.” But I know I can progress. Part of me knew I could do it. From day one, I was like, “I’m not going to not try this climb.” So, I wouldn’t say I went into it looking for a project.

I’m so grateful to Shawn, too. He’ll do something and he’s three years older than me and then the next year, that’s my project. He’s also really real with me. He knows my dimensions and my strengths. I think he has even more belief in me than I do in myself a lot of the time.

Rodden: What was your projecting process on Excalibur?

Raboutou: There was a lot of regression. I got close really fast, and then just a lot of falling on the same move and questioning if it was possible. Then I felt this urgency to do it—to be the first. When you first find a project, it’s so fun and everything’s new and you only progress. But then there’s expectation. Anytime I get on the wall, I either send or I’m disappointed because I can’t progress much more than I have. I did feel an attachment to that climb, to be the first to do it.

I remember a moment when I just felt this urgency. I knew I needed maybe three to four rest days to actually heal my skin and even just mentally. But I kind of wanted to go back in two days because I knew other people were trying it and the weather was getting hotter. And it really bothered me that I thought about that when it’s not about being the first or even doing the climb.

I remember this conversation with Shawn that it doesn’t need to be black and white, good or bad, extrinsic or intrinsic. That was a really pivotal moment, too. I can use this to fuel me.

Especially growing up with my parents, seeing how much love they have for climbing, that’s always inspired me. There is even a little bit of that resentment of people doing things for grades. The outside world only sees achievements for what they are, not the struggle that went into it and the people that come out the other side. But I like being able to grapple with that.

Rodden: It’s interesting to try and balance all that while you’re doing a project because there’s already enough going on. Then you add in that X factor of, “Oh, I’d be the first one to do this thing …”

Raboutou: And then people are starting to talk, like, “I heard you were really close.” Again, I was really private. I didn’t share anything publicly. Of course, people knew, my friends and everything. But it’s weird being a public figure. I think there were Reddit threads or something, like, “Yeah, she’s getting close or blah blah blah.” A lot of it is false.

On the joy and superstition of rituals

Rodden: Aside from some of these bigger tensions, did you obsess over any details on Excalibur? Like what you ate for breakfast on send attempts, a lucky outfit, or filling your chalk bag the perfect amount?

Raboutou: Yes and no. As a kid, I was pretty superstitious. I was like, “I need to wear this or I won’t do well.” Some OCD things for sure.

Rodden: Same. Yeah, same.

Raboutou: As I’ve gotten older, I’m trying to really break those, but still like there’s just things that make me feel good and that I try and keep. Patterns like my meditation in the morning and having a good breakfast. But a lot of intentional things—to be mindful and present—I learned from competition climbing of how to feel my best in those moments. I always have my favorite lucky underwear. So that doesn’t change with comps or outdoor, except I’ve got to do a lot more laundry when it’s like every other day that you’re trying your project for a month and a half.

Rodden: That’s awesome.

Raboutou: It’s funny—that’s actually why in the video, I’m wearing the same shirt every day. I like to change up my outfit, but I really liked this shirt. I was like, “This would be a cool shirt to send in.” So I kept wearing it. I was like, “Oh, I’m not sending. I’m going to wear it again and again.”

Rodden: That’s totally relatable. I was trying this climb at the end of my career and never ended up doing it. We were cleaning out the garage when we moved two years ago and I had the Magic Line box and I was like, “Oh, I still have my clothes in there. I still have the rack.”

Raboutou: Oh my god.

Rodden: I get the whole doing laundry often thing!

Raboutou: It’s funny, but in general as humans, it’s easy to be attached to something and even to view it as, “This is my reason for success,” even if you know it’s not true. But you’re like, “But why would I change it, you know?”

Rodden: Exactly.

Raboutou: Some of that’s okay. It’s having that little bit of hope and using all the little things you can to feel more confident and have a little joy in the moment.

Brooke Raboutou is one of three recipients of Climbing Magazine’s 2025 Golden Piton. The award recognizes her achievement of becoming the first woman to climb a 5.15c route when she topped Excalibur in Arco, Italy on April 8, 2025. Winners were selected by a judge panel comprised of Tommy Caldwell, Kai Lightner, Beth Rodden, Kitty Calhoun, and Mason Earle. Rodden interviewed Brooke on March 17, 2026. 

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