The U.S. Naval Academy’s annual Herndon Climb is underway, where hundreds of plebes — freshman students — are attempting to climb a 21-foot greased monument to close out their first year at Annapolis.
From the U.S. Naval Academy:
Each year, the roughly 1,000 members of the academy’s plebe (freshman) class form a human pyramid around the 21-foot tall Herndon Monument to remove a plebe hat, or “dixie cup,” that upperclassmen have placed on the top of the obelisk monument which is covered in vegetable shortening. The midshipman who makes it to the top then replaces the “dixie cup” with a midshipman’s hat. This event is open to the public.
The time it takes to complete the task varies, but most typically the event takes between one to three hours to complete.
The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the Naval Academy. Demonstrating the teamwork and perseverance they have learned during their first year at the academy, the plebes build a human pyramid to remove the “dixie cup” hat at the top of the vegetable shortening-covered monument and replace it with an upperclassman’s hat. After successfully completing the Herndon climb, the freshmen are no longer called plebes but “fourth class midshipmen.”
