AdAmAn Club climbs Pikes Peak to set off fireworks for 101st annual display

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - For the 105th member of the AdAmAn club, tonight is a moment a decade in the making. It's his very first ascent up with the group.

Britt Jones began his ascent on Saturday, alongside 32 other members and guests to fire fireworks off the top of Pikes Peak. The show happens on New Year's Eve, and the trek marks the 101st climb since the club's genesis.

Focused on chronological moments of importance, this group is a staple to a Colorado Springs New Year's Eve tradition. Jones says it's an act that signifies the level of character in this group of people.

"This is an incredible opportunity to be invited in," Jones said. "I'm honored and humbled. These are some amazing people. They're all volunteers. They all give back to the community, and it's that kind of heart and that kind of spirit that draws me in."

Though this group is made up of unpaid volunteers, Jones said it was a long and competitive process to get in.

"I had to apply three different times before I finally got accepted," Jones said. "Then I was a guest seven different years, seven different times."

For him, this tradition has a special meaning, tied to a significant loss in his life.

"I had a really good climbing friend who actually passed away on the climb that he was helping me climb," Jones said. "He was teaching me a lot about mountaineering that I didn't know. So that's part of what I try to do now is in his spirit, give back to others. So I do that now and mentor other people and help others achieve their goals."

The group spent Saturday hiking six miles up to Barr camp, and Sunday hiking to a spot above the tree line where it's safe to set off fireworks. Jones explained that when they're positioned correctly, and if clear weather allows, they will flash mirrors down so the city knows where they are.

When asked about fire danger, it's clear the century-old group knows what they're doing.

"There's very little fire danger from setting fireworks off the summit because it's above the tree line and there's snow," said Jones. "The parts that come down just land in the snow or on the rock."

The group will set fireworks off Pikes Peak at 9:00 p.m. and midnight this year, and they will descend in the early hours of Monday morning.