For nearly eight decades, one of the United States Naval Academy’s most grueling and beloved annual rites of passage has drawn crowds and tested the grit of incoming freshman classes: the iconic Herndon Climb. This year’s iteration of the 76-year-old tradition delivered another dramatic display of teamwork and determination, culminating in a memorable victory for the son of New Jersey’s governor.
The challenge itself is as unforgiving as it is storied. Participants must work together as a cohesive unit to scale the smooth, 21-foot Herndon Monument, which has been fully coated in slippery vegetable oil to amplify the difficulty of the ascent. At the peak of the obelisk, a small midshipman’s hat is placed before the climb begins, and the first freshman to reach the top and retrieve the hat is declared the event’s official winner.
Unlike many competitive events that prioritize individual achievement, the Herndon Climb inherently relies on collective effort. Most freshmen end up covered in grease and exhausted by the end of the challenge, as they form human pyramids and boost their classmates upward, step by step, toward the top. This year’s class stayed true to that collaborative spirit, working through repeated attempts and slips to ultimately push their winning teammate to the summit.
The annual climb carries deep symbolic meaning for the Naval Academy, representing the transition of incoming plebes from civilians to military academy midshipmen, and the core values of teamwork, perseverance, and service that the institution was founded on. First held in 1940, the tradition has persisted through decades of change, becoming a defining experience that connects every incoming class to the thousands of midshipmen who came before them.