Naval Academy plebes end their first year with daunting traditional climb of Herndon Monument

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — First-year students at the U.S. Naval Academy are taking part in the annual Herndon Monument Climb, a ritual that marks the end of their plebe year. Members of the Class of 2027 will work together Wednesday morning to scale the greased 21-foot obelisk to replace a white plebe “Dixie cup” hat with an upperclassman’s hat. After the climb is complete, they’re called fourth class midshipmen, not plebes. The climb dates back to 1940. The shortest time for the climb is believed to be 1 minute and 30 seconds in 1969, a year that the monument wasn’t greased. The longest was more than four hours in 1995, a year when upperclassmen glued down the Dixie cup.