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The last challenge for Naval Academy freshmen is climbing an obelisk slathered with 50 pounds of vegetable shortening.
- The Naval Academy's freshmen class scaled the slippery Herndon monument in just over an hour on Monday.
- Their accomplishment sheds their status as "plebes" and marks the culmination of plebe year. They'll be promoted to midshipmen third class when the seniors graduate later this week.
- It may have only taken an hour, but the struggle to climb the grease-slathered obelisk is epic and arduous.
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One final challenge stands in the way of US Naval Academy freshman shedding their status as lowly "plebes": A 21-foot-tall granite monument with a round, "Dixie" hat on top.
Scaling it and replacing the sailor hat with a midshipmen's officer-like hat would be pretty straightforward if upperclassmen didn't slather the Herndon monument with vegetable shortening.
Annapolis' freshmen this year scaled the slimed monument at a fast pace. Christian Schwien, Class of 2022, replaced the hat at the top in an hour, 5 minutes, and 5 seconds.
That's not record pace, but it is nearly four times faster than the slowest effort on record: 4 hours and 5 minutes. Looking at you, Class of 1998.
Here's a look at this tough, memorable, and, yes, disgusting rite of passage.