December 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The AdAmAn Club Celebrating its 90th Anniversary

Colorado Springs, Colorado December 5, 2012----------

For the past 90 years, since 1922, the AdAmAn club has made its annual winter trek to the summit of Pikes Peak to fire a midnight blast of fireworks to help the Pikes Peak Region ring in the New Year. The club started when, Fred Barr (who built Barr Trail) and four of his adventurous friends (Fred Morath, Ed Morath, Willis Magee and Harry Standley) made a New Year’s Eve trek to the summit. That night they set fire to some of the Cog Railway’s surplus railroad ties. Upon their return to the Springs, they discovered that many had seen their fire.

The resulting buzz inspired them to start a tradition that is now celebrating its 90th Anniversary.

After deciding to add only one member a year that “Frozen Five” named their group the “AdAmAn Club” (Ad - A - mAn with the A's capitalized to depict mountains). Following that tradition, the club is proud to announce it has selected Col (Ret.) Wally Wininger as its 95th member. Wally, Director, Mission Support Element at Fort Carson, has lived in Colorado Springs since stationed at here in 2003.  A graduate of the United States Military Academy with a Masters Degree from Central Michigan University and the Army War College, Wally has lived, climbed and hiked many locations around the world.  Upon retirement from the Army he and his family chose to stay and call Colorado Springs their home.

Wally has climbed with The AdAmAn Club every year since moving to Colorado Springs in 2003 with the exception of one. As an avid outdoorsman, he enjoys trail running, hiking, hunting, mountain climbing, camping, and exploring Colorado.  For a more detailed bio see:

http://www.adaman.org/Members/wallywininger.aspx

The club is also pleased to announce that Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia will be climbing as a guest this year.  This will be his second climb with the club and we are happy he can join us to help celebrate our 90th Anniversary.

This year's climb is dedicated to the enduring strength of the Pikes Peak community in response to the Waldo Canyon Fire.

The club will leave the Barr trailhead at 9:00 am on December 30 with Wally breaking trail. The team of climbers will spend the night at Barr Camp and then summit the peak the next afternoon. As part of a long tradition, they will exchange mirror flashes with Colorado Springs from timberline. The flashing will start around 10:30 am.

In honor of the Frozen Five the club will shoot off five fireworks at 9:00 pm. Then, at the stroke of midnight, and weather permitting, the Club will greet the New Year with a spectacular fireworks display from the 14,115-foot summit.

Those interested can learn more about the club including its history and a list of its members on the web at http://www.adaman.org. Its archives are held by the Pioneer Museum.