The Herndon Climb Returns!

Thank God! The new Commandant of the US Naval Academy has decided to allow the annual Herndon Climb to once again go occur.  For those who don't know, the Herndon Climb is a fabulous tradition in which upper classman grease up the Herndon obelisk with lard and place a midshipmen's hat at the top.  The plebes (freshmen) then have to use teamwork to climb the obelisk and get the hat.  This marks their transition from plebes to midshipmen.  It also means that all those tight, muscular bodies get greased up and intertwined as they strain and struggle to climb a large, greased granite monument!  Almost makes you wish you'd gone to the Naval Academy.  Back in 2008 the previous Commandant had decided to ban the climb because he thought it was too dangerous.  Get real, these are future Naval & Marine officers who we are sending off to war to fight and die for their country.  If climbing a granite obelisk covered in pig fat is too dangerous for them then maybe they should reconsider their chosen career path.  Thankfully the new Commandant has a firmer grip on reality and possibly a better appreciation for the site of young muscular bodies?  Enjoy these pictures of the 2011 Herndon Climb!

Another Week Repaired & Navy Seaman!

Ahh yes, thankfully, I have managed to get another week in April fully repaired so I have come close to getting all of the previous posts back up and running after the problem with image hosting.

And I'm so sorry for my delay in getting a new post online. I've been super busy lately.

Today's post is all about the Herndon Monument tradition at the US Naval Academy. At the end of each academic year, there is a tradition at the USNA that the 1st year students (known as plebes) must scale the Herndon Monument on campus and replace the paper cup placed on the top by the upper-classmen with a plebe's hat. The catch is that the upper-classmen have greased up the Monument with a heavy coating of lard. This means that the plebes must use a combination of teamwork & muscle power to do the trick. This inevitably means that cheering crowds of onlookers are treated to the spectacle of sweaty, greasy, muscular bodies glistening in the Spring Sun. 

God I love traditions! Here are pics from the past few years of this wonderful event.