Brooke Raboutou Sends ‘Box Therapy’—She Called it V15
Brooke and Shawn Raboutou made the fifth and sixth ascents of 'Box Therapy.' (Photo: Finn Stack)
Brooke Raboutou has sent Daniel Woods’sBox Therapy in Wild Basin, making her the sixth woman to send V15 (or harder). It was a family affair: the 22-year-old Olympian sent back-to-back alongside her brother Shawn while their parents filmed and shuffled pads.
Box Therapy adds a low start to Tommy Caldwell’sSpread Eagle (V11). It was FA’d in 2017 by Daniel Woods, who graded it V16, and saw repeats by Drew Ruana and Sean Bailey in the ensuing years. The fourth ascent occurred this past July by Boston-nativeKatie Lamb, who began trying the line just a month prior. Lamb was tentatively recognized as the first woman to send V16, the grade withstanding.
Brooke has previously sent several V14s, includingTrieste, in Red Rock,Jade, in Rocky Mountain National Park, andMuscle Car, in Coal Creek. She’s pushed upper grades since she was a kid, sending V10 at age 9, V11 at 10, 5.14b at 11, 5.14c at 14, and so on. Her brother Shawn, 25, is likewise one of the world’s strongest boulderers, having established two V17s—Alphane andMegatron—and numerous V16s, some of which remain unrepeated.
[Read: Brooke Raboutou, Olympian, Climbed 5.14b At Age 11]
Brooke first triedBox Therapy in September 2022 and made quick progress on the climb, but she was unable to return to it until late this year. All told, she writes on Instagram that she managed the send in just a few sessions.
Raboutou’s decision to downgrade Box Therapy was based on several factors. “Grades are tricky because they truly are subjective and can feel different for everyone,” she writes. “After chatting with my brother and others who have done the climb, I feel like V15 is an appropriate grade, especially if I compare it to some of the benchmark V15’s I’ve tested.”
[Read: Before The Olympics, An Interview With Brooke Raboutou]
Raboutou is best known for her performances on the World Cup circuit. She’s long been racking up hardware, and she won her first World Cup in Hachioji last April. Raboutou narrowly missed out on a 2024 Olympic invitation at theWorld Championships that took place last August, in Bern, Switzerland. Her next opportunity to qualify will be in Santiago at the Pan-American Games at the end of the month.
