McReynolds “Mac” Sommers is proud to be this year’s new member of Colorado Springs’ storied, Pikes Peak-climbing AdAmAn Club. But there might be someone even more proud.  It might be his 97-year-old grandmother, Elaine Sommers, the widow of the member selected in 1963 and the mother of t he member added in 1988.  Elaine Sommers was there at the club’s fall dinner, which she attends every year to hear a name called and added to the historic roster. She was there this time to hear Mac’s name called ー the third generation of the family to become a member of the club venturing to the top of America’s Mountain every New Year’s Eve to set off fireworks at midnight, per a tradition dating to 1922.  For more than 60 years, the AdAmAn Club has been “an extended family” for Elaine Sommers, said her son, Bob. And there at that fall ceremony, she got to see her grandson extend her own family’s tradition.  “It was such a joy for her,” Bob said.  From the window of her senior living home, it has been a joy to watch the short round of fireworks at 9 p.m. in honor of the AdAmAn Club’s founding Frozen Five. Elaine has been known to stay awake for midnight, too.  The Pikes Peak AdAmAn Club has been a Pikes Peak tradition since 1922. The mountaineers climb the east face of Pikes Peak and launch a fireworks display at the summit to usher in the New Year. (Gazette photo) She has also attended the annual send-off breakfast in Manitou Springs, ahead of AdAmAn members and guests trekking to Barr Camp for the night on Dec. 30. Mac, now 30, has fond childhood memories of those early mornings.  “We would always pick her up to go to the breakfasts,” he said. “And then I guess it was when I was 19 when I started climbing (as a guest). I was curious to see what it was about.”  It was about camaraderie, he learned ー lifelong friends climbing, camping, telling stories, sharing memories and laughing along the way. They’d be there for each other in times that were no laughing matter, times when the snow piled up and the bitter wind blasted toward 14,000 feet. At midnight, their smiling faces would glow the colors of the fireworks in the stars above.  Mac came to know of other traditions along the climb. The stop for lunch around French Creek. The spaghetti dinner at Barr Camp. The games some would play there while others visited AdAmAn Point, the overlook for reflecting on members, friends and family who had come and gone.  AdAmAn Point is a traditional stop for reflection for members of the AdAmAn Club on their way up Pikes Peak for New Year’s Eve fireworks. (Courtesy photo) Above treeline on New Year’s Eve morning, the group would flash mirrors, and the people of the city below would flash mirrors back. Mac and Bob have known exactly where to look for their grandmother and mother.  Over the past decade of climbing, Mac has ultimately come to learn this about the century-old AdAmAn Club: “It’s a tradition that people can follow. It’s a way to create a shared ritual that brings people together.”  This was known by his grandfather, Bruce Sommers. He climbed through the ’50s en route to AdAmAn membership. He died in 1989, a year after his son became a member.  “He had a great sense of humor,” Bob said of his father ー perhaps helping the man’s membership candidacy, along with his passion for mountaineering and giving back. Bruce Sommers served in the Army and the Army Reserve. He served at his church, and he served roles on the Pikes Peak Highway like his father before him.  The family’s roots in Colorado Springs are traced back to 1887 with the arrival of Edward Sommers, who previously drove cattle through the western San Juan Mountains. Mac represents the fifth generation in town, where his family settled ahead of his freshman year at Liberty High School. Before then the family had moved around the country for Bob’s posts with the Marine Corps.  The AdAmAn Club is rooted in McReynolds “Mac” Sommers’ childhood memories. He’s the club’s new member this year, joining his father, Bob. (Courtesy photo) But they were always back for New Year’s Eve.  The AdAmAn Club “was always like a tether back to Colorado Springs,” Mac said.  Bob felt a duty on Pikes Peak. As did Mac, who climbed through his years at Pepperdine University and his years studying and working abroad.  Now pursuing a master’s through the Harvard Business School, more recent years have seen him in Africa, where he’s helped raise capital for renewable energy projects bringing power to people without it. Previously, Mac taught English in Brazil.  Wherever he went, he’d occasionally show pictures of Pikes Peak on New Year’s Eve.  “In Africa and Brazil, where most people had never seen snow, they could not fathom it. They’d think I was crazy,” Mac said. “They would ask me, ‘Why do you do it?'”  The answer went back to that camaraderie and those deep traditions. The answer went back to his family, of course.  “I’m thrilled for several reasons,” Bob said of his son’s membership. “He’ll carry on the Sommers name, but that’s not really that important. It’s carrying on the AdAmAn tradition.”  And, he said, it’s adding youth to an aging club. Mac recognized his place in a “shift” that saw a young woman become the AdAmAn member in 2024. “The club is kind of moving toward a new growth trajectory,” Mac said. “It’s exciting to be able to support that transition, while also having been a part of it the past 10 years now, I’ve gotten to know sort of the DNA of the club. So I’ll get to carry that forward, too.”  He’ll lead the way at the start up Barr Trail, as goes tradition for the new member. At camp later, he’ll head to AdAmAn Point and reflect there at his grandfather’s favorite place.  And later the next morning, when he’s flashing a mirror to the city below, he’ll know exactly where to look.  McReynolds “Mac” Sommers on Mount Kenya. (Courtesy photo) AdAmAn schedule  The New Year’s Eve fireworks show atop Pikes Peak is the end of a two-day journey for the AdAmAn Club. Here’s a look at the group’s posted itinerary:  Dec. 30 7 a.m. send-off breakfast 9 a.m. start up Barr Trail 11 a.m. lunch stop at French Creek  2:30 p.m. arrival at Barr Camp for overnight Dec. 31 7:30 a.m. leave Barr Camp  10 a.m. arrival at timberline A-Frame 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. mirror flashing to Colorado Springs 2:30 p.m. arrival at the summit  9 p.m. fireworks to commemorate club-founding Frozen Five  Midnight fireworks  12:30 a.m. drive down Pikes Peak Highway The AdAmAn Club makes its 95th ascent up lower Barr Trail on Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. (Gazette photo) ...read more read less