Pikes Peak's AdAmAn Club turns 100 — with bigger fireworks show planned

They've missed only one year - 2010 - due to weather, and have a new book out commemorating their history.

Against the odds, Pikes Peak's AdAmAn Club turns 100 — with bigger fireworks show planned
By Seth Boster, The Gazette This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dec 28, 2022

On Dec. 31, 1990, Dan Stuart stood with the AdAmAn Club atop Pikes Peak for the first time. He watched the sun set against a purple sky and cast the mountain’s shadow over the plains, before a full moon rose and the stars twinkled with the city below. Here, among the snow at 14,115 feet, a white glow splashed across the smiling faces of companions.

Now president of the AdAmAn Club, Stuart is preparing for his 31st New Year’s Eve ascent. And whatever the atmosphere brings, this one is promising to be most memorable.

The club is celebrating its 100th year with mountaintop fireworks at 9 p.m. and midnight — shows expected to be bigger than usual. As always, visibility will depend on Mother Nature. And as always, the AdAmAn Club is determined to ring in the new year in a bold, dramatic way no other community in the world can claim.

On Dec. 31, 1922, bad conditions met the “Frozen Five,” the legendary originators of the club. Mountaineer brothers Fred and Ed Morath enlisted trail maestro Fred Barr, photographer Harry Standley and cigar-smoking soldier-turned-accountant Willis Magee to embark on the New Year’s Eve mission.

The idea had been hatched to add a man to the climb each year, hence the name AdAmAn (Fred Morath stylized the As as tall peaks). For many first-time guests, it would be “a baptism by blizzard,” recalled one organizer.

As much as the physical feat itself, the growing group’s camaraderie was becoming known, strengthened by trail humor, games and campfires at Barr Camp.

New book:
AdAmAn One Hundred Years of Ice, Wind, and Fire
by AdAmAn Club (Author), Don Kallaus; Don Sanborn; Dan Stuart
December 10, 2022

A Story a Century in the Making In December 1922, five men from Colorado Springs decided to attempt what had never before been done. They would climb Pikes Peak to welcome the new year with flares and fireworks from the top of America’s Mountain. They came to be called the “Frozen Five”. Little did they know that their unique decision to climb to the 14,115 foot summit in the dead of winter would become a cherished tradition for the entire Pikes Peak region. The AdAmAn Club exemplifies the Colorado spirit of adventure and perseverance in overcoming adversity. Named for the practice of adding a single member each year (add a man) and stylized so the A’s in the name depict mountains, this book celebrates the 100 year history of this unusual and intrepid group of mountain climbers. This book encompasses the entire 100 year history of this locally celebrated organization. This decade by decade chronology outlines the formation of the club, its founding, and a biographical listing of its members. Guest climbers, club associates, and honorary members are also noted. A treasure of rich photo imagery beginning with the sepia toned photographs by the noted Colorado Springs photographer and club founding member, Harry Standley, and continuing into mid-century black & white photo imagery by another well-known Colorado Springs photo practitioner, James L. Bates. The book abounds with not just photos, but maps, charts, news articles, stories, and club statistics. A documentation of the technical advancement with pyro technics, climbing equipment, cold weather gear, communication and psuedo-weather science.