AdAmAn climbers make it up Pikes Peak for New Year fireworks
UPDATE: At 9 p.m. Monday night, The AdAmAn Club shot five fireworks into the air — one for each of the original Frozen Five members.
They followed that with a minute of silence and high powered flashlights into the clouds, and then one more firework in honor of member Dr. Sean O’Donnell who passed away in 2017.
The AdAmAn Club says the 9:00 p.m. was hardly visible, though, so they are waiting to see if there’s some clearing over the next few hours. If there is some clearing at midnight, they will have another test firing before making a final decision whether or not to shoot the full display.
At 9 pm we shot five fireworks in honor of the original Frozen Five members. We followed that with a minute of silence and high powered flashlights shown into the clouds and then one more firework in honor of member Dr. Sean O’Donnell who passed away this last year.
— The AdAmAn Club (@TheAdAmAnClub) January 1, 2019
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The AdAmAn Club has made it to the top of Pikes Peak as part of their 97th annual climb to see the New Years Eve fireworks.
The group posted Monday around 3:20 p.m. on their official Facebook page with pictures of them at the top.
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Before Southern Colorado blasts into 2019 with fireworks above Pikes Peak, the climbers must begin the journey up the mountain
Mountaineers with AdAmAn Club began their climb of Pikes Peak for the 97th time Sunday morning.
Climbers and their families first met at the Community Congregational Church in Manitou Springs for breakfast before they continued a tradition dating back to 1922. The tradition began when five individuals climbed Pikes Peak on New Years to set off the fireworks, every since they have added another person to the group.
“I am just a little nervous today because I’m the lead guy,” said Lance Stark, the newest member of the AdAmAn club.
Stark says he has climbed to the top of America’s Mountain a handful of times. However, as the newest AdAmAn club member, he takes on more responsibility.
“I’ve got to set the pace,” said Stark. “I’m sure we are going to have some decisions to make depending on the weather so yea a little nervous about that.”
A few dozen decided to make the journey this year. Some are first time climbers while others have done it more than 20 times. However, it doesn’t matter if you are a rookie or a vet. All of their eyes are going to be on tomorrow ‘s forecast.
“The last I saw there is a ninety percent chance of snow most of the day tomorrow,” said Dan Stuart, the AdAmAn Club President. “So we are expecting anywhere from probably five to ten inches of new snow. I always think the worse the weather the better, but you can remind me tomorrow of that I said that and we’ll see what that is like.”
“It sounds like it’s going to be nasty,” said Stark. “High winds and cold which always makes for a challenge.”
Regardless of weather, getting to the top and setting off the fireworks is a must. Plus this year, Stark is excited for his role in the show.
“I’ve had the opportunity to shoot the flares before but this is the first time I’ll actually fire the big mortars so I’m excited for that,” said Stark.
This year the AdAmAn club is dedicating the climb to member Dr. Sean O’Donnell, who was with the group since 2001, but passed away back in May of 2018. If tomorrow ‘s weather permits the O’Donnell family will set off some of the first fireworks on top of Pikes Peak at midnight.
