A lard-covered obelisk is more than a slippery slope for U.S. Naval Academy plebes, who view it as a rite of passage that changes them into midshipmen.

The U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 2028 successfully completed the Herndon Monument Climb on Wednesday morning, marking the end of their Plebe Year. The climb, a storied tradition, took 2 hours and 32 minutes to complete.

The Naval Academy Class of 2028 completed the annual Herndon monument climb in a time of 2:27:31 and are “Plebes no more!”