Brooke Raboutou first woman to climb 9b+ with 'Excalibur' at Arco

American rock climber Brooke Raboutou has helped shape the history of modern sport climbing with her astounding redpoint of Excalibur at Arco, Italy on Saturday 5 April. In doing so, the 23-year-old has become the first woman in the world to climb 9b+. With 9c currently representing the absolute apex, Excalibur stands as one of the hardest routes in the world; the only climbs that are half a grade harder are Silence (Adam Ondra, 2017), DNA (Sebastién Bouin, 2022) and BIG (Jakob Schubert, 2023).

Established by local Stefano Ghisolfi in 2023, this fierce, short sheet of overhanging limestone was repeated for the first time earlier this year Scotland's Will Bosi, who confirmed the grade. Some of the biggest names in climbing have also tried their luck on the route, such as Adam Ondra, Jakob Schubert, Shawn Raboutou, but at present the line has withstood all other assaults.

A climbing prodigy, Raboutou is the daughter of champions — French climber Didier Raboutou and American Robyn Erbesfield — and sister to standout climber Shawn Raboutou. She began climbing as a child and methodically progressed through the grades, setting new benchmarks outdoors while excelling in competitions. Her emotional silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics was a highlight of the Games, and she carried that momentum into 2025, sending 8B+ boulder in a single day this February.

Raboutou’s watershed achievement builds on a growing legacy of women pushing the sport’s limits. Female 9b was climbed for the first time by Angela Eiter back in 2017 and since then Laura Rogora, Julia Chanourdie and Anak Verhoeven have followed suit. Yet the leap from 9b to 9b+ is truly monumental and Raboutou's ascent quite simply redefines the meaning of the word impressive.

Writing on her Instagram handle, Raboutou explained "Dear Excalibur. Thank you for the lessons. From the start, I was drawn to you — something about your unrelenting intensity. Our relationship swayed over time. Some days felt like effortless harmony; on others, we fought, our voices raised. Still, the way you pushed me was like none before. You forced me to confront my fears, detach from expectation, and feed every flicker of belief I could find. You taught me to argue with doubt until it began to doubt itself. You asked for everything, but gave me even more in return.

To everyone who supported me on this big goal — thank you. I’m endlessly grateful for my people, and for the connections this climb brought into my life. It means more than I can say."

First female ascents
8c: Josune Bereziartu, Honky Tonky, Oñati, Spain, 1998
8c+: Josune Bereziartu, Honky Mix, Oñati, Spain, 2000
9a: Josune Bereziartu, Bain de sang, Saint Loup, Switzerland 2002
9a/9a+: Josune Bereziartu, Bimbaluna, Saint Loup, Switzerland 09/05/2005
9a+: Margo Hayes, La Rambla, Siurana, Spain, 26/02/2017
9b: Angela Eiter, La planta de shiva, Villanueva del Rosario, Spain, 22/10/2017
9b+: Brooke Raboutou, Excalibur, Arco, Italy, 05/04/2025

 

 

 

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