Plebes take on greasy, grueling Herndon Climb to cap first year at U.S. Naval Academy

BALTIMORE -- Dozens of U.S. Naval Academy freshman, known as plebes, climbed a 21-foot-tall obelisk covered in lard Wednesday morning in Annapolis.

Their objective: climb the slippery monument and place a hat on top to mark the end of their first year at the institution.

The Herndon Climb is a Naval Academy tradition that dates back to 1950, the academy says . The monument is named after Commander William Lewis Herndon, who went down with his ship in a hurricane in 1857.

The plebes work together in the event to remove the "dixie cup" hat from atop the obelisk and replace it with an upperclassman's hat. But 200 pounds of lard make the climb a bit difficult.

The class of 2027 finished the climb in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 11 seconds. It was capped by Midshipman Ben Leisegang from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.

It is said the person who gets the hat to the top of the monument will be the first admiral in the class.

Last year, it took the class  2 hours, 31 minutes and 51 seconds to complete their objective.

The fasted recorded Herndon Climb time was a minute and 30 seconds in 1972, when no grease was used. The longest recorded time was in four hours and five minutes in 1998, when the dixie cup was glued and taped.

Upon completion, the plebes will have the hard-earned title of fourth-class midshipmen.