Amazing Pikes Peak Feats
Thrill-seekers, fund-raisers, and publicity hounds have been attracted to Pikes Peak for decades. Daring adventurers have hang-glided and skied off the summit, and rock climbers have challenged steep rock faces. Here is the scoop on some of the zanier stunts.
Julia Archibald Holmes climbed for five days to become the first documented white woman to reach the summit of Pikes peak. The determined woman’s-libber walked much of the way from Kansas to Colorado with the Lawrence gold-seeking party in 1858. She wore the practical, but scandalous, newfangled bloomers on her famous trek.
In 1929, Texan Bill Williams pushed a peanut to the summit with his nose. He wore out 12 pairs of gloves, 3 pair of shoes and 150 peanuts during the 21 day feat.
It took only two hours and 29 minutes for Tracy Fisher and friends to push a piano from Glen Cove to the summit. On May 29, 1995 they braved mud, wind and freezing temperatures to get the 550 pound, $10,000 Steinway piano up the peak. The folks from A-1 Piano Movers raised money for the Colorado Springs Symphony with the stunt.
A fantastic fund-raiser to purchase a new computer equipment for a local school took place on September 30, 1995. Four students and two administrators from Palmer High School dribbled basketballs and soccer balls up the long, winding road. The crew successfully reached the windy summit ten hours after leaving the toll gate.
Marker can be reached from Pike's Peak Toll Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
