Summer Mank is upon us

"Is that the new term?" asked a fellow climber as we handed him an excuse for falling off the wall.
The hot summer days seem to be upon us and with it brings the humidity that we call mankiness. When things just won't seem to stay dry for five minutes, even with an entire brick of chalk on both you and the intended hold...that's Mank.

This past weekend we made trips to MacKenzie on Friday and Peter's Kill on Saturday.
Ben and I had our hopes set high for MacKenzie, he with his eyes on Cartwheel and Shut Up Machine; me looking at finally polishing off Star Chores. The bluebird sky and blazing hot sun however, did not set up optimal conditions for these tough sends. We gave our best efforts, hid under boulders quite a bit and ended up only sending one new problem, a v4 that felt more like a V6 due to it's strenuous top out.

On Saturday, JP joined us for a trip to Peter's Kill and again we had our eyes on some the prize v7s of PKill. The day was cooler and overcast, but the clouds held in the humidity and it felt a bit like a rain forest under that canopy. After a quick warm up, I gave Village Idiot a few goes, but the crux move was off a slimy, wet slot and was not to be had that day. Ben gave goes on Mad Lion, figured out a great sequence, but the tiny crimp was too mank for the full send. Next on to Delicate Soul, a project of mine for several years. Today was the day for me though. First Ben got the send (after scumming all the best beta for the long lip traverse.) Then I finally rolled through all the moves in smooth style. JP also had great work for it, but ran out of gas before the send. Ben then repeated Tiger Style, a problem which continues to baffle me.

Here's to hoping for a nice cloudy summer. OR some great evening sessions