Prolific outdoor rock climber Jen Wood has joined the Depot Climbing athlete team
Depot Climbing are excited to announce that Jen Wood has joined the Depot Athlete team.
For those with their eyes on the latest in outdoor rock climbing news, Jen will be no stranger, currently one of the most prolific British female outdoor climbers, clipping the chains of 8th-grade routes on an almost daily basis.
Born from a background in competition climbing, Jen Wood was the British speed climbing champion in 2018, and has competed in a boulder World Cup semi-final, and now has her focus firmly set on outdoor sport climbing, both on the leading crags of the UK to limestone crags of Europe.
Jen may also be the first British woman to make the first ascent of an 8c route in Hvar, Croatia.
When not ticking off some of the hardest test pieces around, Jen works as a climbing coach with Lattice Training, helping a range of clients from their first 6th grade to projecting 9a’s. Jen is also a master of science in biochemistry and microbiology, and finds the draw of research pairs well with her coaching work.
We had some questions for Jen Wood to help our Depot Climbing community get to know her a little better.
Image Credit: Marsha Balaeva
About Us
Starting with an easy one, Chee Dale or Kilnsey?
Ahaha, as if you even need to ask. Kilsney all day long!
Bouldering or Sport?
Sport for sure. There’s something so satisfying about battling the pump and putting in a fight and clipping chains. I think I’ll get there with bouldering, but coming from years of competition bouldering, the total switch was so refreshing.
Quickdraws racked in or out?
In!
Dream climbing trip?
Damn, it’s hard not to just say Kalymnos! But I reckon it’d have to be Squamish to get on Dreamcatcher.
Image Credit: Mario Grabinsky
How did you get into climbing?
Same as a lot seem to, with a lot of kids at a birthday party. I was kind of pants at it, but I’ve always been generally really sporty, so I enjoyed the challenge. When I found out you could compete, I was hooked.
How did your early experience of competition climbing form your current outlook?
Ooh, I think I always need to channel my competitiveness somewhere, so I enjoy pushing myself outdoors, but I think the main draw to outdoor days is that it feels so low-pressure compared to having to do a boulder you’ve never seen before in 5 minutes in front of a big crowd.
So I’d say all that experience now makes the crag feel so chill while still keeping skills to perform under pressure.
What would you say is your biggest accomplishment as an outdoor climber?
Oof, I reckon it has to be the first ascent in Hvar. We had a 9-day trip, so I had to commit to the project if I was going to stand a chance and just hope that it would be around the right grade to finish in a trip. I then power screamed my whole way through it, so that is hard to forget.
How do you balance chasing outdoor goals versus training for them?
I’m still learning with this, actually, and I think I learnt a lot from some mistakes last year.
2024 was my first UK season without competitions, so I just climbed, like all the time, and felt a bit wrecked and burnt out by September. This year I’m doing a lot more ‘top-up’ training alongside outdoor rock climbing days, and usually treat a little bit of the crag day like training.
So I’d say at the moment, I’m doing 3 outdoor days, one of them being more mileage-based, then 3 days indoors where I’m largely focused on hard moves and max strength to keep that ticking over.
Image Credit: Mario Grabinsky
What is it that motivates you to try a route? Is it rooted in the grade, the holds, the location or a bit of it all?
I can’t deny that the grade is always a huge factor in motivation. I look to push myself and enjoy the challenge, and the mental aspect of the fear of whether it’s even possible. But then I’ll pick a nice-looking line or something that intimidates me a bit, and if it looks like it’s going to be a right faff to get the gear out, I might leave it!
As a prominent rock climber now, what role do you see indoor climbing for pushing limits outdoors?
I’ve always trained, so I can’t imagine not climbing indoors alongside outdoor rock climbing. It just feels so essential for getting hard moves and that top-end power. It just seems like the most efficient, productive way to make sure you keep hitting the areas not being trained when you get out.
What is on the agenda for your climbing in 2025 and beyond?
Keep plucking away at Kilnsey for now, there is still a bunch of stuff I’d like to climb. I’d also like to get a few of the UK classics done this year that I’ve always been a bit scared of, like Mecca at the Tor.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking about giving climbing a try?
Go to a Depot 😉 They’re everywhere!
What other passions motivate you and bring you joy?
I love to run, mostly it’s just a nice chill time to relax, but I did my first marathon this year, and that was cool. A big achievement to train through that because running for 3 hours feels harder than any climb I’ve done, I swear!
Who inspires you in the climbing scene?
I find this always fluctuates loads, but I think people like Michaela Kiersch are really cool for the volume she manages and does less typical ‘girl’ routes. Then I find that anyone can operate hard in a bunch of disciplines is very cool, like Billy Ridal and Rhoslyn Frugtniet.
Categorised in: Athlete Updates
This post was written by depotadmin
