Colorado School of Mines incoming class march up Mount Zion in over 100-year-long tradition
Hundreds of new students at the Colorado School of Mines are marching up Mount Zion in Golden in a tradition dating back to 1908.
About 1,665 students embarked on the trek to carry a 10-pound rock from their hometown for three miles up the mountain and spruce up the "M," by placing their rock down in the giant M-shaped display on the side of the mountain.
Last year, second-year students participated alongside incoming freshmen and transfers because of a hiatus the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. First-year students and transfers broke a record last year with the largest class in the school's history -- about 1,580 students.
Every year Colorado School of Mines welcomes new freshman with the signature experience that began back in 1908, of carrying a 10-pound rock up Mount Zion. Today you can watch as they leave campus and climb up the trail to the “M”. pic.twitter.com/cJuuemOUiu
— City of Golden (@CityofGolden) August 19, 2022
Other traditions and activities take place at the top of the climb, such as "whitewashing" the rocks for a new coat of paint and spray-painting the students' mining helmets.