How students maintain the iconic ‘M’ in Golden

GOLDEN, Colo. — There are a lot of things you can look up to in Golden: the steel brewing tanks at Coors Brewery, Lookout Mountain and even stars in the night sky if you distance yourself from the light pollution. 

Of course, there’s also the iconic “M” on the side of Mount Zion. 

Built by Colorado School of Mines faculty and students in 1908, the 11,000-square-foot M is a staple for the university’s community.

For the last century, the student-run Blue Key Honor Society has maintained the mountaintop M. 

“It’s a long-standing symbol of engineering and school pride,” said Connor Dunfee, chapter director of Blue Key Honor Society. “[The M] is essentially something great that Golden can look to as a commonality — a lot of people in the city have pride in it too.”

Assembled from whitewashed rocks and trimmed in light bulbs, the structure has been lit since 1935. 

Every year, freshmen at the Colorado School of Mines hike up to the structure to drop off a rock from their hometown. This tradition, called the “M Climb,” is deeply rooted in the school’s culture. 

The students in the Blue Key Honor Society help plan each climb. They also maintain the symbol, changing the designs for holidays and cleaning up debris.

Here’s a look at how the students recently changed the M into a bat for Halloween.