Grand Junction – Two dozen Grand Junction adventure-seekers are taking Fourth of July flag-flying to new heights.
A librarian, a construction worker, an attorney and an 18-year-old girl are among those who signed on with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Technical Rescue Team to scale a 450-foot sandstone monolith at the Colorado National Monument to plant a flag.
The tradition began nearly a century ago when John Otto, the desert-dwelling eccentric who championed the creation of the monument, climbed Independence Rock with Old Glory on July 4, 1910. Otto had lived at the base of the rock he named Independence Monument for years. He and his wife hammered the Declaration of Independence on a large boulder nearby to demonstrate their patriotism.
Otto’s flag tradition was picked up about 15 years ago by Grand Junction area climbers, who began spending every Fourth of July morning roping up and unfurling the Stars and Stripes.
This year, climbers with the technical rescue team and Colorado Alpine & Desert Adventures opened the opportunity to nonclimbers. Ten professional mountain guides are belaying the participants to the top and helping them rappel back down again using equipment supplied by the climbers.
The nonclimbers are making $100 donations to the rescue team for the opportunity.
“Raising the flag always gives you a little feeling in your heart,” said organizer and rescue team member Jose Iglesias. “It’s pretty cool.”
Grand Junction attorney Chris Seidman, who has never taken part in a technical rock climb, said he was also feeling some butterflies before the event he is undertaking with his 18-year-old daughter, Laura.
“We are doing it for the challenge,” Seidman said.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
