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mbg
Aug 27, 2004, 8:28 PM
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I've always been curious about the history of the "CU" and various off-shoots that have been painted on the Third over the years. Hopefully some good stories have come out of the creation of this high profile graffiti. Maybe one of the old hands who surfs this site can offer up some details.
It's my understanding that the paint first went up in the 60's. Since then the letters have been altered to read "PU", "OU" (prior to a OU/CU football game) and probably others. I think the "CU" was last redone in the early 80's. Layers of reddish and gray latex have been applied since then to try and camouflage it but the "legacy" lives on. Sometimes the letters are barely visable but if the lighting is right they still stand out like a sore thumb.
When scrambling over the slick paint, I always have images in my head of drunken students up there in the dark, hauling up copious amounts of paint. It was no small feat to paint symetrical letters about 100 feet tall; most of the east face is pretty ledgy but good anchors cannot be had everywhere.
So let's hear it. Who wants to offer up some history of the infamous letters on the Third?
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timstich
Aug 27, 2004, 8:35 PM
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Registered: Feb 3, 2003
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You have to understand, that the kind of kids that painted that CU are the same kind that rioted for no apparant reason when CSU welcomed the students back for Fall. All that energy and nothing to direct it at. Too bad there weren't enough chicks at the frat houses to keep them occupied or enough dope for that matter. You can bet alchohol was behind this. No stoners would have had the drive to do that.
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taorock
Aug 27, 2004, 8:49 PM
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Registered: Aug 14, 2002
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I first climbed it in the Fall of '70. Even then, there was what were called the "cologists" who painted the CU and the "ecologists" who painted over it. At least that is how Mr. Munger phrased it. He was a science teacher and Rocky Mountain Rescue member who would take HS students out and literally show us how to use ropes and pitons on weekends. His only requirement was that the usual group of four would bring him lunch.
His son Mike, along with Charlie Fowler later caught everyones attention by jumping off the Diving Boards in Eldo to really see what it was like to get caught by a rope after falling 150 feet.
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mutant
Aug 27, 2004, 8:57 PM
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Registered: May 19, 2003
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You never started in the 70's! Tell the truth it was the 40's!!!!
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ambler
Aug 27, 2004, 8:57 PM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2002
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The impulse to paint school letters on nearby mountains has been pretty widespread out west in years past. A big "M" of white rocks on Lookout Mountain above the Colorado School of Mines, and whatever it is (a "D"? I forget) above St. George in Utah, are two other examples that come to mind. Seems like I've seen dozens of others. There's even that famous "Hollywood" sign in LA. The 3rd Flatiron paint job is unusual in that it afflicts a major climbing feature, but students and other silly folk have been doing this kind of stuff wherever they could forever. Only in recent years has it gone partly out of style.
If adolescents in your town never did this, it's probably because they couldn't find a suitable mountain.
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climbsomething
Aug 27, 2004, 9:47 PM
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Registered: May 30, 2002
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In reply to: The impulse to paint school letters on nearby mountains has been pretty widespread out west in years past. A big "M" of white rocks on Lookout Mountain above the Colorado School of Mines, and whatever it is (a "D"? I forget) above St. George in Utah, are two other examples that come to mind. Seems like I've seen dozens of others. There's even that famous "Hollywood" sign in LA. The 3rd Flatiron paint job is unusual in that it afflicts a major climbing feature, but students and othere silly folk have been doing this kind of stuff wherever they could forever. Only in recent years has it gone partly out of style. If adolescents in your town never did this, it's probably because they couldn't find a suitable mountain. |
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taorock
Aug 27, 2004, 9:53 PM
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Registered: Aug 14, 2002
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Hillary,
Don't forget 'F' mountain in Florence.
And Mutant. Go answer your phone.
T
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vegastradguy
Aug 27, 2004, 10:05 PM
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Registered: Aug 28, 2002
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let's see...places that have letters on the side of mountains/hills:
'B' for Bountiful High in Bountiful Utah
'V' for Viewmont High in Bountiful Utah
'D' for Dixie College in St. George Utah
'B' for Basic High in Las Vegas, NV
'A' for U. of A in Tucson.
I always thought that was standard fare for schools in cities. Although, I will say that putting letters on the actual rock face of the flatiron is a little different than the ones listed above, which are generally on hillsides that require a little scrambling to get to.
I believe the McDonalds on Speedway in Tucson still has a nice little history of the 'A' on the hill in one of their U of A frames on the walls.
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mutant
Aug 27, 2004, 10:15 PM
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Registered: May 19, 2003
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RRRIIINNNGGG!!!RRRIIINNNGGG!!!! "Hello? Hi Tao how have you been? I haven't spoken to you since late 40's at the base of the Flatiron."
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maldaly
Aug 27, 2004, 10:23 PM
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Registered: Oct 31, 2002
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I think as soon as you drive west of the Mississippi--or maybe it's when the trees disappear--you begin seeing school letters painted on what ever scenic backdrop is visible. The best was in the early 70's when the students went up there and changed the CU into a peace sign. Maybe they should do that now?!? ;-) :wink:
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wlderdude
Oct 4, 2004, 9:26 PM
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Registered: Aug 8, 2002
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Those letters are everywhere in Utah.
At BYU (where the founder of this site was attending when he founded it) they painted a huge Y on the mountian. Back a really long time ago, each graduating class whitwashed the mountian with their year. It got out of hand so the school decided to put the Y up. I don't know if everyone else decided to follow suit, but lots of towns with pretty small populations have them.
The B in Bountiful was mentioned.
Driving south from SLC you see
U for University of Utah
G for the town of pleasant Grove
Y for BYU
I often wonder why Lindon didn't thow up their letter to finish the word UGLY!
The Y and U are always getting painted rival colors. In 1999, some people made a large 2K to follow the Y out of newspaper.
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maculated
Oct 4, 2004, 9:39 PM
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Registered: Dec 23, 2001
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San Luis Obispo loves its letters, too.
We have a giant, white asphalt "P" emblazoned over the school, which gets made into letters, words, and painted with pretty colors as sanctioned by the school:
http://virtualslo.com/.../Attraction.php?id=7
To the south, we have "SL" on the side of our Santa Lucia mountains for "San Luis High."
West of that is the "M" on Cerro San Luis which many people think is for "Madonna" the owner of the hill and most of the town, but is really for "Mission High School." I hiked up there a few months ago and apparently it is cow-printed. Who knew?
And our very own "P wall." Which is home to the most classic lead in San Luis Obispo. http://images.climbingslo.com/beta/source/4.jpg
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