They practiced on the hard-rock spires not far from Mount Rushmore, fine tuning the rock-climbing skills they would need to scramble down the massive granite face of the sculpture.

They stopped at the visitor center, studied the memorial from different angles and plotted a route to the top that would keep them from being detected.

Then in the cover of night, 11 Greenpeace protesters picked their way through boulders and dense pine stands to huddle together and wait for dawn and a chance to perform a dangerous, mile-high protest aimed at an international audience.

"We went in basically late in the night in the darkness. It was a several-hour trek to get in there," said Matt Leonard, a 30-year-old Greenpeace employee from San Francisco. "It was pretty difficult, especially with the weight of the banner and climbing gear, food and water, layers of clothes and cell phones. It was largely careful route-finding."

Leonard, one of 11 Greenpeace protesters facing criminal charges for scaling Mount Rushmore last week to unfurl a huge political banner, declined to speak in detail about the days and hours leading up to the climb. But he said none of the activists had previously traveled the route up the mountain.

They did spend days in and around Mount Rushmore National Memorial park, studying the monument and the terrain and training for a challenging protest with clear physical dangers.

"We'd been in the region for a while, getting people in shape and training," Leonard said. "We've gone to the visitor's center a few times and took a few times to look around."

That and navigational aids, including compasses, helped the group hike and climb up the mountain in the dark early Wednesday, using head lamps sparingly when the clouds obscured the moon.

Then, the group huddled in a protected area within 100 yards of the top of the sculpture, eating energy bars and drinking water and coffee.

"We had coffee," he said. "But it wasn't very hot."

Leonard was one of three rock climbers in the group that rappelled down the front of the sculpture to unroll and secure the 1,800-square-foot banner urging President Barack Obama to provide more leadership in the fight against global warming.

They were jittery, both from the chilly winds and from uncertainty about what was to come. Despite the background work, they were basing their plans on the assumption that the climbing anchors and related equipment in place on the monument would do the job. They had no intention of drilling holes and place new anchors, Leonard said.

"It was a little bit going blind and getting up in there, and hoping you'd find adequate climbing anchors," he said. "Knowing Rushmore had their own ropes team, we knew there would be anchors there."

As it turned out, the anchors were "largely in the right spots, and we have to assess what our options were and use the ones that worked for us," Leonard said.

Leonard, a veteran of 10 years of rock climbing, can be seen in a Greenpeace video rappelling down with the right side of the banner to anchor it in place to the right of Lincoln's face. Leonard braces himself to hold the banner as another climber hangs on, while the wind jerks the left side of the banner up and away from the granite, taking the climber with it.

"It was pretty intense at that point in those winds," Leonard said. "A banner is a sail for all practical purposes."

Leonard said there was never a serious threat to the climbers, who have done such work before. And the equipment at the monument was reliable, as expected, he said.

Greenpeace spokesman Michael Crocker of Washington, D.C., said Leonard and others knew what they were doing.

"All the climbers were chosen for their experience and skill. And those are some of the best climbers there are," he said. "Safety is of huge concern. And they were very careful to be safe and to not damage the monument."

Leonard said all those involved wanted to ensure that the protest didn't pose a safety risk to them or to any of the visitors or staff. The personal safety assurances included having a Greenpeace member contact parks officials shortly before the group appeared on top the sculpture to inform them that it was a peaceful demonstration. The group also wore white Greenpeace shirts.

Despite the high winds, the team got the banner in place and eventually rappelled down the face of the sculpture where they were arrested. Others were arrested at various locations up the sculpture. All went into custody without resistance, according to Leonard.

"We wanted to make sure there was absolutely no damage to the monument. We took great pains to be sure of that," he said. "We have tremendous respect for the monument and what it represents, and certainly for the staff, who are working hard to do their jobs."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com