The Effects of Overstoke on Climbing Related Outcomes
Becoming too stoked about anything can lead to potentially dangerous situations. The Onion reported on this exact phenomenon 14 years ago, and the study is striking.
From the earliest onset of my climbing, I was immediately labeled as an “overstoker.” “Stoker” didn’t quite cut it. My excitement for climbing eclipsed nearly every other person in my crew, and continues to to this day. I routinely leave my harness on for the hike out “just in case.” I can‘t rule out the possibility that there might be an enticing climb on the way out, you just never know.
Some people have questioned my ability to remain objective while under the influence of stoke, and I’d prefer not to comment on whether or not this is true. I tend to ignore the less desirable effects of stoke in favor of pushing on and getting after it etc. To some, “overstoker” is a pejorative term, but to me it’s an odd badge of honor. I’m excited about climbing, and I’m actively doing something about it most of the time.
This year I intend to redpoint a 5.11a, and in my journey to do this I’ve already come up short. While at the Callahans I convinced (maybe tricked) our group into hunting down a particularly remote route of this grade. It involved retracing a dormant trail and scrambling down a large tree trunk that had fallen over, and no one was there to hear it. It was cool to check out an unusual spot and see what it had to offer. I could tell in the midst of the hike that it was likely going to be overgrown, but I was stoked about it.
Upon getting to the bottom of the route, I noticed the usual amount of vegetation for a climb in this area, which is sometimes a lot. After the initial moves the arete feature that dominates the route appeared to clear up significantly, revealing a beautiful looking line. I began tying in and in the process of trying to keep my shoes dry while standing on the steep hillside, realized that this wasn’t the best idea. I pressed on and floated through the initial moves and was almost immediately shut down by the airy feeling combined with questionable holds. I attempted to work through it for a while before succumbing to the fear, and we ended up doing a type of aid climbing to reach the anchors.
Between the spot where I gave up and the top I noticed even more moss and less holds, and realized that it would have been an even longer day had I gone for it free. Although this was disappointing, it was cool to see what the rest of the route had to offer, and I may even go back to clean it some day.
Right before leaving the usual formations to find this climb, one of my friends suggested that we hop on the much closer and cleaner Turtle Rock. Having done a fair amount of the routes on this rock already, I shrugged it off in my pursuit of stoke chasing and sending a novel route. I think in hindsight it would have been nice to get a few extra runs in that day, but I can’t say I won’t somehow make this same mistake in this same area sometime soon. The effects of overstoke cannot be understated, so proceed with caution and consider your sense of objective reasoning more throughly. From time to time anyway.
