AdAmAN Club’s Annual Pikes Peak New Year’s Fireworks Tradition Continues In 2014

I stayed up last night to watch the fireworks that are shot off the summit of Pikes Peak each year.  The fireworks are unique tradition here in Colorado Springs that I doubt anywhere else in the country does.  Here is a picture of the fireworks that I took from my backyard using my iPhone 5S:

The iPhone is obviously not great for taking night time photos, but I can assure everyone that the weather conditions last night were ideal for a great display.  I bet those fireworks could be seen over 200 miles away because of how clear the conditions were. Here is a picture of the fireworks from New Year’s 2010 from the local Gazette newspaper that provides a better look at the fireworks from the summit of Pikes Peak:

The fireworks are set off by the AdAmAn Club which has made this a annual Colorado Springs tradition since 1922.

The Pikes Peak AdAmAn Club has been a Pikes Peak Region tradition since 1922. It is a unique group of mountaineers, who each year on December 30th and 31st, climb the icy slopes of Barr Trail on the east face of world famous Pikes Peak. Then, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, AdAmAn members and their guests ignite a glorious fireworks display from the summit to usher in the New Year.

Our Club is dedicated to the memory of the original “Frozen Five”, Ed Morath, Fred Morath, Fred Barr, Willis Magee and Harry Standley. Their idea was that each year, only one new member would be added to the Club, and as a result, the name AdAmAn (add a man) was chosen. Each year, members choose one new member from a list of applicants.

Our climbing party of thirty members and guests leaves the trailhead of Barr Trail on December 30th, with an overnight stay at Barr Camp. On December 31st, we flash mirrors from our location at timberline to friends and families in the Colorado Springs area. In the early afternoon, we finish the ascent to the summit. The climb from timberline (12,000 feet) to the 14,110-foot summit is often accomplished on icy and snow swept slopes with wind chills of -50 degrees.

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, we fire a spectacular fireworks display, which on a clear night, can be seen for hundreds of miles along the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies and eastern plains. [AdAmAn Club website]

One of the original “Frozen Five” was Fred Barr who is well known in Colorado Springs since he is the person who constructed the famous Barr Trail up Pikes Peak.  Since the group only adds one person a year it assures that the club is composed of only very accomplished climbers like Fred Barr.  To do what this club does every year takes skilled climbers because unlike this year’s conditions there have been years with very treacherous conditions that have led to injuries.  Despite the conditions the fireworks still always go off.  Th AdAmAn Club and its annual New Year’s fireworks is just another great aspect of living here in Colorado Springs.