Peril and Pride in Proboscis Peanut-Pushing Up Pikes Peak

Peanuts hold a dear place in the heart of Americana, from being the classic baseball game snack to the monocled Planters mascot, Mr. Peanut. But perhaps lost in the annals of this nation’s great peanut moments is the time Bill Williams of Rio Hondo, Texas, pushed a peanut up Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

It was May 1929 when Williams accepted a $500 bet from a group of neighbors to direct the nut 22 miles up the 14,115-foot mountain using nothing more than his nose. He was given 22 days to achieve the feat. That $500 was big money in 1929—hardly peanuts—and was a timely payday just before the stock market crash.

This was not Williams’ first peanut-pushing rodeo. He had guided a goober 11 miles the previous fall after losing a bet on the presidential election. But his success emboldened him.

“I can push a peanut any place,” he proudly boasted. Locals challenged him to try Pikes Peak and Williams didn’t flinch.

To help with the Herculean task, Williams armed himself with knee pads, canvas gloves, and a wondrous wire device that strapped to his nose to aid in the pushing. “The device is widely heralded by peanut pushers as the very latest in propellors for peanuts,” one newspaper commented. Williams also packed several backup peanuts (they wear out) for the journey. As the paper further reported, the Texas daredevil estimated “a first class peanut ought to be good for two miles on a paved road” but might not achieve that mileage on the rocky unpaved mountain.

Now, aside from the physical stamina and dexterity required for such an endeavor, Williams also faced the perils of nature. During one day’s mile stretch, a reporter noted that “the squirrels were of a more brazen and decidedly more inquisitive clan” who “seemed to think the performance was being staged entirely for their benefit.” In the face of pilfering squirrels, backup peanuts truly proved critical.

Williams was hardly alone on his quest. Hoards of peanut-allergy-free spectators were on hand to witness the first few hundred yards of the push, and a judge ensured he dared not pick up the peanut and walk.

“I’m one big ache,” he said just a few days into the push. “I use the same muscles all day long, with no chance to change and it gets a fellow down.”

But not even downpours of rain or a spring snowstorm that hit halfway up the hill could keep this fellow down. Williams wasn’t about to let cold temperatures dampen his legume legacy. In fact, he miraculously completed the trek a day ahead of schedule. Williams’ hurried pace prevented any interference with Secretary of Interior Ray Wilbur’s planned oil conference in Colorado Springs. Peanut patriotism prevailed.

Williams may have been the first to achieve this magnificent feat, but he was not the last. Three peanut pushers followed in his kneepad-steps. Most recent was 53-year-old Bob Salem in 2022, who made the climb in six days and 20 hours (this only included time spent pushing). His time shattered a previous record of eight days. He accepted the challenge as a way to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of Manitou Springs.

As Salem explained on Peter Anthony Holder’s Business Beyond Bizarre podcast, he did a lot of hiking in advance to get used to the altitude. He also practiced peanut pushing for the press with his own homemade proboscis device fashioned from a CPAP machine mask. “I got an idea of what to do and what not to do,” he explained. “It’s actually easier going up the mountain on your hands and knees than it is walking, it takes longer but it is easier.”