The Colorado School of Mines is a pretty tame place compared to its glory days. Back before there were cellphones to capture what are certainly felonies today, the pranks could include kidnapping, head shaving, and an M dyed to the scalp using silver nitrate. Sadly, the crack of stolen dynamite can no longer be heard on days of campus celebrations. But there are a few traditions that hang on and one of my favorite is the freshman M-Climb.
The basic concept is that freshman bring a big rock from home and carry it from campus to the M on Mt Zion. You also get a hardhat to protect you from the mild to moderate hazing along the way (depending on the level of motivation of your upperclassmen). If all goes well, you can make the walk again as a senior to retrieve your stone.
I will admit that I almost lost it when I saw the buses lined up to take the latest class up the mountain. Turns out my fury was misdirected and the buses were only ferrying everyone across the highway construction zone. With my faith in the alma mater restored we walked part of the route, practicing the fight song at every checkpoint and looking old enough to stay dry.
It was clear that some of the staples of previous climbs were off limits these days but its probably the distance of 13 years that makes water balloon sling shots, paint soaked socks, flour bombs and indiscriminate spray painting seem like an appropriate welcome to impressionable teenagers.
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| The blue hardhats look good even from a distance |