Retropolis

Naval Academy freshmen just climbed a greased 21-foot monument. Here’s the history behind the spectacle.

By Rachel Siegel May 21 [link:rachel.siegel@washpost.com|Email the author]

Several hundred young warriors stormed a 21-foot-high obelisk at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis on Monday, slipping and sliding as they formed a human pyramid around a monument covered in 50 pounds of vegetable shortening.



The annual tradition marks the end of their hellacious “plebe” year at the academy, the country’s premier training ground for Navy and Marine Corps officers. But that year is only over once the freshmen, known as plebes, manage to replace a “dixie cup” cap perched at the monument’s tip with an upperclassman’s hat.

With hundreds of spectators watching in person and hundreds of thousands following the action online, there were wild cheers when the plebes completed the mission after two hours, nine minutes and 35 seconds. The “capper” was Peter Rossi from Phoenix.
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The Herndon Climb is the ultimate test of the teamwork and perseverance taught during the plebes’ first year. And it was a challenge they had to complete like the thousands of shirtless men and bathing-suited women who came before them.

{The shirtless monument climb at the Naval Academy is America’s best spectator sport}



Crazed plebes run to begin the annual Herndon Monument Climb in Annapolis in 2015. (Matt McClain/ The Washington Post)

So what’s the history here?
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Rachel Siegel is a national business reporter. She previously contributed to the Post's Metro desk, The Marshall Project and The Dallas Morning News. Follow @rachsieg