A cannon went off. A series of young men yelled. Rain came pouring down, soaking them to the bone.

No, this wasn’t a cheesy action movie. It was the Herndon Climb at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Since 1962, first-year students at the academy, called plebes, have climbed the 21-foot Herndon Monument, replacing a “Dixie cup” hat at the top with an upperclassman’s hat. The granite obelisk, slathered in approximately 150 pounds of vegetable shortening, is a slippery climb, especially with upperclassmen spraying hoses of cold water onto the plebes.

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A plebe’s Dixie cup sits atop the Herndon Monument, which was covered in vegetable shortening. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

This year’s Herndon Climb comes as the military academy makes headlines for a series of Trump-influenced changes. Faculty and staff were told not to teach about “divisive” topics like gender and systemic racism. President Donald Trump purged the academy’s Board of Visitors; the U.S. Department of Defense ordered the removal of 383 books from the library due to concerns about DEI, and the academy will no longer practice affirmative action in its admissions.

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But one thing hasn’t changed: Families from across the country still showed up to see their children risk concussion to mount the greased monument. Students climbed on top of each other, hoisting each other up by their arms, legs and butts. They took off their shirts, and sometimes even their shorts, to wipe the monument down.

It took over 2 1/2 hours until Gus Russo, of Summit, New Jersey, managed to complete the challenge, standing on a mountain of his young classmates.

The plebe tower collapses during the annual Herndon Monument climb at the U.S. Naval Academy.
The plebe tower collapses. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
Spectators watch as plebes attempt to scale a 21-foot tall granite obelisk covered in vegetable shortening during the annual Herndon Monument climb at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Spectators watch from the sidelines. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
A plebe cleans vegetable shortening off the granite obelisk during the annual Herndon Monument climb at the U.S. Naval Academy.
A plebe cleans vegetable shortening off the granite obelisk. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
A plebe falls into the crowd while trying to clean vegetable shortening off the granite obelisk during the annual Herndon Monument climb at the U.S. Naval Academy.
A plebe falls into the crowd while trying to clean the obelisk. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
The freshman class at the U.S. Naval Academy cheer as classmate Augustus Russo is introduced by the superintendent after he successfully placed an upperclassman’s hat atop the Herndon Monument during the annual climb to end the plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.
The freshman class at the U.S. Naval Academy cheers after classmate Augustus Russo successfully placed an upperclassman’s hat atop the Herndon Monument. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)
Plebe Augustus Russo of Summit, NJ, is carried off after successfully placing an upperclassman’s hat atop the Herndon Monument during the annual climb to end the plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Plebe Augustus Russo celebrates with his classmates. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.