December 11, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The AdAmAn Club Preparing for 92nd Climb

Colorado Springs, Colorado December 11, 2013----------

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 what has become a long standing tradition for the Pikes Peak region.

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 Nick Baki as its 96th member. Nick is the youngest member added to the club since 1992. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Nick is a graduate of Coronado High School and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He began mountain climbing at the age of 8 and technical rock climbing at the age of 12. He has climbed 94 of the 100 highest peaks in Colorado and several of the top 200.  In addition to Colorado peaks, he has climb Mount Whitney in California.

Nick has climbed with The AdAmAn Club seven times as a guest.  For a more detailed bio see:

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

This year's climb is dedicated to the resiliency of the citizens of the Pikes Peak region in response to recent disasters and to the first responders who are there for us all.

The club will leave the Barr trailhead at 9:00 am on December 30 with Nick 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. The club's archives are held by the Pioneer Museum.