Jennifer Wood ticks Pixam (8c)

Jennifer Wood has completed Pixam (8c) in Kalymnos. This was the fourth 8c since July for the 29-year-old who finished competing in 2023.

Can you tell us more about the send and your kneepad thinking?
I tried Pixam at the end of my last trip in May and surprised myself by actually getting really close. First go this trip I couldn’t believe how much easier the moves felt so confidently set off on Redpoint. Got a bit shut down aha, the humidity was tough and I was faffing with a tricky clip and I was powering out.

A couple of days later and I’d lost my initial optimism but stuck with it, but everything went wrong on the send go aha. I fumbled a clip about 6 times, ripped a massive flapper in my tip but just dug deep on the crux and somehow pulled it off. After a reasonable rest the top wall is an amazing bit of climbing, maybe 8a+ ish so felt great to hold it together :) “

I actually did wear a knee pad in the end! Was a bit stubborn last trip because I don’t like climbing in them, but this season plus time with the experts in Hvar has helped me get to grips with them 😂

How can you best explain your continuous great progress the last few years?
I think the main reason I’ve been able to improve quite a lot this year is just spending sooo much more time on rock ! Comps are not so good for that 😅 I feel like I’ve been learning a lot technically as well as just getting better at projecting tactics. Oh and I have rest days on trips now , annoyingly that helps a lot too 😉