Y Mountain is a mountain located directly east of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) in Provo,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The Slide Canyon, or Y Mountain Trail, leads to a large block Y located from a parking area at the mountain's base with an elevation gain of . This

hillside letter Hillside letters or mountain monograms are a form of geoglyph (more specifically hill figures) common in the Western United States, consisting of large single letters, abbreviations, or messages emblazoned on hillsides, typically created and main ...

was built over a hundred years ago as the insignia for BYU. For years the trail to the Y has been one of the most hiked trails in

Utah Valley Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and provides a scenic view of Provo and

Orem Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah M ...

, the rest of the many cities in Utah Valley and

Utah Lake Utah Lake is a shallow freshwater lake in the center of Utah County, Utah, United States. It lies in Utah Valley, surrounded by the Provo-Orem metropolitan area. The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt La ...

. The trail is also regularly used by hikers, bikers, paragliders and hunters to access the backcountry in the Slide Canyon area.

Y sign

The large white Y on the side of the mountain has become the nationally recognized insignia for BYU and the reason why BYU is often called "the Y". It was first built in 1906 using rock and lime, and as since been made more permanent with the additions of concrete and paint. At 380 feet long and 130 feet wide (116 by 40 m), the Y is larger than the letters of the

Hollywood Sign The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...

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. There used to be 14 strands of lights placed around the perimeter of the Y, which were lit five times a year by the Intercollegiate Knights. When the Y was lit, club members were selected to guard the Y to ensure the generator kept the lights on until nearly midnight. The same volunteer guards assisted the university grounds employees with setting up the lights (and removing them several days later) and remained on duty to protect against vandalism as long as the lights were in place. In 2016, the incandescent lights were replaced with LED lights that can be turned on or off from the campus below. The Y is lit for Freshman Orientation, Homecoming, Y Days, and graduation in April and August.

History

In early 1906, when the junior class of

Brigham Young High School Brigham Young High School was a private high school in Provo, Utah, United States, first known as Brigham Young Academy (BYA). The school later became attached to Brigham Young University (BYU) with its official name being Brigham Young Universit ...

(BYHS) wanted to paint '07 on the side of the mountain, the BYHS senior class became upset. To settle this conflict, BYU President George H. Brimhall and BYHS Principal Edwin S. Hinckley proposed that they paint the letters BYU on the mountain instead. In April, the plans to construct the BYU on the mountain were begun. Professor Ernest D. Partridge was assigned to conduct a survey and designed the emblem. When this was complete, a line of high school and university students, and some faculty, passed buckets of

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, sand, and rocks up the mountain in order to fill up the letters. After six hours of hard labor, only the Y had been completed, so the filling in of the remaining two letters was postponed and later abandoned. The BYU Y Day tradition began in 1907. This consisted of thousands of students hauling, by

bucket brigade A bucket brigade or human chain is a method for transporting items where items are passed from one (relatively stationary) person to the next. The method was important in firefighting before the advent of hand-pumped fire engines, whereby fir ...

, gallons of

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

up the mountain to paint the giant Y. This tradition lasted until 1973, when it was abandoned due to the mountain eroding. A wall was erected around the letter in 1908 to keep it together. This required an additional 20,000 pounds of concrete. In 1911,

serif In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ...

s were added to the top and bottom of the Y, giving it its current look. The tradition of "lighting the Y" began in 1924. Each year during special evenings (such as homecoming), mattress batting was placed in buckets and soaked in

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

. The buckets were then set around the edges of the Y and lit with torches. Eventually, this process evolved into using mattress batting soaked in used vehicle oil which was carried up the mountainside. Once at the Y the mixture was formed into "gook" balls (a little bigger than softballs) with a thumb size hole poked into the top. These were placed around the Y and just before lighting a bit of gasoline was poured into the holes to allow the torches to quickly light the entire Y. Using this method the Y would remain lit for about 20 minutes. In 1975, BYU began to use a helicopter to carry thousands of pounds of whitewash to repaint the Y. Repainting of the Y is accomplished about every 5 years. As the previous method of lighting the Y was long considered hazardous (due to the potential wildland fire risk) and because of the brief amount of time the Y would actually remain lit, it was discontinued after the lighting in the spring of 1985. A generator and strands of lights were purchased for exclusive use on the Y, with up to 14 strands of the 25-watt lights bulbs being needed to outline the Y. These lights (first used for homecoming in the fall of 1985) provide several hours of much brighter light and allow the Y to be lit for several consecutive nights in celebration of each event rather than just a short while on a single evening. Initially, the lights and generator were dropped off and picked up by helicopter before and after each event, but after several years an old military ammunition bunker was installed on the mountainside near the Y to securely store the equipment when not in use. The 100th anniversary of the Y was celebrated on May 20, 2006. Many people hiked the Y that day to commemorate the occasion. In 2014, the

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passed a bill allowing BYU to purchase the 80 acres surrounding the Y from the US Forest Service. The sale required BYU to maintain public access to the trail and the land. In 2016, BYU officials announce the finalization of the purchase of 81 surrounding acres, renovation of erosion damage, installation of permanent lights and trail enhancements. On March 4, 2021, a group of about 40 students unofficially lit the Y in rainbow colors for an hour on Rainbow Day—a year after changes were made to the Honor Code regarding homosexual behavior among students.

Vandalism

Like many college symbols, the Y has been the target of various

pranks A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

, many of them involving red paint, the principal color of BYU's

archrival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

, the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. It was most recently painted red by members of the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team in 2004. The cost of repair was reported to be over $6,000, and therefore, in accordance with laws of the state of Utah, the perpetrators were initially charged with second degree felonies. It has also been painted many other times, such as an incident in 2002, when vandals dumped several cans of paint down the Y, giving it a multicolored visage until it was painted white again the next day. This incident was called the worst act of vandalism against the Y in the past decade.

Hiking the Y

Hiking to the Y is a popular activity for BYU students and locals going for a walk or jog, or exercising their pets. Most BYU students end up hiking the 'Y' at least once during their time in school, either on a date or for one of the University's "Light the Y" events.

References

*"Hike the Y 100th Anniversary" pamphlet distributed by BYU Wellness http://wellness.byu.edu/ *BYU History L. Tom Perry Collection - History of Y Days - http://lib.byu.edu/sites/byuhistory/2008/10/15/y-days/

External links