Erbesfield-Raboutou was born in 1963 in Georgia (U.S. state). She was introduced to climbing by a high school boyfriend when she was 18, and climbed in Little River Canyon, Sand Rock, Looking Glass Rock, and Chattanooga.
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 travelled 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
In 1993, she became the third woman to redpoint a 5.14a(8b+) with ascents of Silence and Attention Vous Regard in France.
In 2012, she redpointed Welcome to Tijuana5.14b(8c) in Rodellar, Spain, becoming the oldest American woman to climb at that grade at 49.
Coaching
Erbesfield-Raboutou founded the coaching company ABC Kids Climbing in an upstairs room at the Boulder Rock Club, Boulder, Colorado in 2003, and in 2012 they moved into their own space in East Boulder. Her coaching focused on developing agility, balance, and coordination in young climbers. Many of its graduates are climbing 5.14 outdoor routes, and performing well in national and international climbing competitions. Two of the four American athletes who qualified for the 2020 Olympics in sport climbing, Brooke Raboutou and Colin Duffy, were both members of Team ABC, which also produced Margo Hayes, the first woman to climb a 5.15a(9a+) 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 Didier Raboutou[fr] in 1993, and their two children, Brooke Raboutou and Shawn Raboutou, are themselves accomplished rock climbers.
