Accident in Grand Teton NP - Local climber

[Matt_Anderson]

Frank had one of the most generous hearts around. He will be missed.

 

It had been to long since I had seen him, despite many calls that "we should get together." Please be reminded that spending time with friends growing relationships is to easily put aside due to other priorities.

 

A friend of Frank's sent me this. I thought I would forward it.

 

Here's to Frank . . .

FRANCIS X. OLDING

1964 - 2004

 

Francis X. Olding, devoted husband, Army Ranger, Seattle lawyer, and avid climber and outdoorsman has parted company with us to climb peaks unseen.

 

Frank Olding, born on April 23, 1964, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Paul and Anna May Olding passed on September 6, 2004 while climbing at Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. In addition to his adoring wife and loving parents, Frank leaves behind three brothers and three sisters, and numerous nieces and nephews.

 

Prior to moving to Seattle in 1997, Frank served with distinction in the United States Army. As an Airborne Ranger, Frank graduated from Ohio State University in 1992, where he received a Bachelors degree in Political Science. After attaining his undergraduate degree, Frank obtained a Law Degree from the University of Toledo, Ohio. In 1997, Frank moved to Seattle to pursue his dreams, including the practice of law and all things outdoors. In 1999, Frank had the good fortune of meeting, falling in love and, in August 2001, marrying his wife beloved Teresa Olding. Frank and Teresa celebrated their marriage by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, elevation 19,340’, in Africa for their honeymoon.

 

Frank was a charismatic, compelling person who touched everyone that had the opportunity to meet him. His love of the outdoors was infectious and he always sought companionship for every adventure that called to his great heart. Although possessed of an uncompromising adventurous spirit, he was happiest when in the company of family and friends, whether lifelong or newly made. Frank enjoyed sharing his passion for the mountains with people of all abilities and skill levels. His enthusiasm was tempered with patience while introducing the sport to family and friends. He took frequent trips to the Cascades and Tetons. He also traveled and climbed in Peru, Ecuador, Mexico and Africa. To have spent any time in his company was simply to know the delight of life. Although we are joyful that Frank’s spirit must now soar above the peaks that so called to him and he is onto another great adventure, we all mourn his passing. His will be greatly, greatly missed.

 

In June 2004, after a successful career with the Seattle law firms of Lee Smart Cook Martin & Patterson and Betts Patterson Mines, Frank established the Law Offices of Francis X. Olding.

 

Memorial services will be held this Saturday, September 11, 2004, starting at 11:00 am and ending at 2:00 pm, at Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th Street, Seattle WA 98107, in Ballard. For further directions, contact Leif Erikson Hall at 206-783-1274.

 

Frank and Teresa had dreamed of building a school in Nepal for underprivileged children. Please send any donation to Room to Read, a group dedicated to providing reading materials to underprivileged children in Nepal. Send check, payable to Room to Read and In Honor of Frank and Teresa Olding, at: The Prisidio, PO Box 29127, San Francisco, CA 94129.

[Alex]

Frank and Teresa had dreamed of building a school in Nepal for underprivileged children. Please send any donation to Room to Read, a group dedicated to providing reading materials to underprivileged children in Nepal. Send check, payable to Room to Read and In Honor of Frank and Teresa Olding, at: The Prisidio, PO Box 29127, San Francisco, CA 94129.

 

My family will make a donation. condolences and RIP.

[JayB]

Very sad news. The main thing I am feeling right now is shock - soon to be followed by sorrow, most of which will be reserved for his family, friends, and loved ones - but a bit of which will stem from the interactions I had with him here. He seemed like a good guy who knew his stuff and stayed on the classy side of any conversation that he participated in here. I will miss his company and contributions here, and regret that I never had a chance to meet him in person.

 

I have never personally taken much comfort in the notion that someone died doing what they loved, as my thoughts tend to drift towards all of the experiences that they will miss out on and won't be able to share with the people that they care about now that they are gone. However, it sounds like he made the most of the time he had, and I hope that the people close to him can take some comfort from that.

 

My sympathies to his wife, his family, and his friends.

[Stefan]

I never climbed with Frank but I did meet him several times.

 

He was vivacious and full of energy and ideas. He had a great smile.

[scot'teryx]

I first met Francis on the summit of Mt Hood in March 2002.

Over the past few years he always posted encouraging notes and was always positive about everything.

 

Francis also devoted time in helping me get my business going so that I met all the criteria that I needed to so that I could run the business by the book. This kind of information was priceless, and he never charged me a dime.

 

He will be missed and I am very saddened to hear this horrible news. RIP

[Figger_Eight]

Sigh...

 

RIP Rodchester

[David_Parker]

I am very sad to hear of Rodchester passing. I also never met him, but he added valuable information and advice in a respectable way on this site. I therefore considered him a "friend". I do know Erik Newman if it's the same one who has been to rope up and I climbed with last year on Dreamer. In the report it says Frank turned around because he questioned the ability of his partners to follow. As far as Erik goes, this makes no sense. The Erik I know climbs 5.11.

 

What really makes me stop and think is how accidents can happen to experienced climbers who don't deserve them. I don't think he was pushing any limits recklessly and he probably considered his choices of routes with family in mind. He was doing what most of us do and that is what hits hard. I just can't imagine my son having to grow up without me! It makes me question my own climbing.

 

My sincere condolences to family, friends and partners.

 

Peace,

 

DPP

[Lambone]

allways sad to hear when bad things happen to fellow cc.comers and local climbers. RIP Rodchester.

[mattp]

I too knew Rodchester through his participation on this website and some exchanges of private messages following discussions here. I knew him to be thoughtful, knowledgeable, and a real contributor to our sport. Like everyone else here, I will miss him.

[Dante]

I am a friend of, and co-climber with, Frank. There are few people in my life whose judgment I would substitute for my own. He was one of those guys. I met him practicing law, and like most of us here, we talked climbing more than shop. From there, we committed ourselves to taking on imminently reasonable climbs, East Ridge of Tetons, Mt. Moran, Ingall's Peak, etc. He loved being outdoors and climbing for fun. He was a consummate professional and had a perfect climbing ethic. His diligence to safety should remind us to always be vigilant. Climbing safely though, was second nature to him, and thus, I believe that the best part of any climb for him was the camaraderie and beauty of nature.

 

He was a jumper for the Army Rangers in his earlier days. In Court, he wore an Army Ranger pin, and unlike most litigators, his refined intellect was always backed by his physical prowess. He could argue with the best of them, but then unlike most of them, he’d jump out of a plane and/or climb a peak. There is always something charming about a person who uses their mind, but only after proving his/her athletic ability and commitment to service. First and foremost, behind this well rounded intensity was a man, as those who know him, or have checked his profile, who was simply into “Climbing & beer”. These two endeavors led him ultimately to his most important love. Friends and family. Nothing could be a bigger testament to this commitment than the 40 or more friends already at his house last night, celebrating Frank, supporting his wonderful wife and family, and trying to endure this process together. You see, Frank wanted not only friends for himself, but he wanted his friends to be each others friends, and to have a community in which he could cultivate a richness to his life and a web of experiences which linked all these people together. That bond was evident last night (I hugged 35 people I’ve never even met and made plans to see them all again!), as it will be into the future for any of us who have been fortunate enough to experience Frank. I miss him horribly, but, am glad that his rich sense of humor is the first thing I think about when I miss him. Thus, as I miss him, I think of his laughter and levity, and then I start laughing too. There was much crying, but also laughter last night. I think that it must mean that there is no deeper expression of love for him than to laugh and celebrate our existence while we have it.

[David_Parker]

Well written!

[AllYouCanEat]

Hello Dante, thanks for your heartfelt words! As a community here, it is nice to see the web of friendships and first person accounts of the people that knew Rodchester. For me it hits closer to home than some since I was part of a similar tragedy. Now almost a year later we are going to go spread his ashes in the mountains he loved, we all love and I'm sure like you we'll also tell plenty of good stories.

[Wopper]

I was a good friend of Frank's whom first met him while we were in the Army together at Ft. Bragg, NC in '88. I was fortunate enough to spend countless hours in his presence while living together, drinking beer, road trips and time in the mountains. One of my best memories of him is playing cards in Moraine Camp while waiting for routes to melt out after a snow storm on the Grand. This particular memory has nothing to do with climbing, it has everything to do with spending time and hanging out with a good friend. He was a charismatic person that had dreams and the enthusiasm, drive and determination to pursue them.

A great characterization of Frank refers to Scot'terxy's post from above. I was climbing with Frank when we ran into Scot'teryx on Hood. We had just done the Reid Glacier Headwall and while drinking water and eating Snickers on the summit made small talk with Scott. From that small conversation and a connection made on CCcom Frank assisted a near stranger who needed some legal counsel.

My wife and I pulled out some of our wedding pictures last night and found the perfect one of Frank with a Redhook in his hand, a big smile on his face and his arm around his wife.

Until we meet again to climb and watch Buckeye football -

[Juan]

Is this route the same as Irene's Arete? I looked up E. Ridge in the Teton Classic book last night and didn't see it.

 

What a sad situation, but as we all know the line between life and serious injury or death is so fine with this sport. We've seen it too many times this year already.

 

Condolences, of course.

 

Sharp

[dkemp]

Oh man. RIP Rodchester.

 

Really really sad. Apparently he was a A #1 kinda person.

[Lambone]

Is this route the same as Irene's Arete?

 

I may be wrong, but I don't think so. I'm not familiar with where it is exactly...

[Ducknut]

This community has lost one of its valuable contributers. My condolences to family, friends, members here. Really makes all of us pause and think about our sport, our actions and how we may affect our families and friends.

[robertm]

Although I never met Frank I too felt connected to him through this board. My thoughts go out to his family and close friends.

 

Looking at the Teton guide it appears as if the East Ridge is 5.7 (6 pitches)on "stellar rock" with "great positions".

[Slider]

Irene's Arete is one of the south-facing aretes and buttresses below the summit and is not a summit climb. The East Ridge route tops out on the summit of Disappointment Peak. According to the Climber's Guide to the Teton Range it is rated at Grade II, 5.6 "a short, enjoyable climb on excellent rock leading to one of the finest viewpoints in the range, the summit of Disappointment Peak."

[scot'teryx]

The Memorial today in Ballard had a huge turnout. I don't like memorials that much, and even though I did not know Frank that well, I felt compelled to do attend.

 

The actual incident was documented by Eric, which also answered many questions. It was incedible to hear the amount of zest for life that Frank had, and how much he loved to share it with others. Offering his help and guidance was always more important to him than his own personal endeavors.

 

RIP Frank. Our best to his wife Teresa & family

Edited September 13, 2004 by scot'teryx

[erden]

As Scott said the memorial was attended by many. The quality, size and sincerity of the crowd was a testimony to Frank and how he lived his life.

 

We were able to laugh about the memories with Frank that others brought up, to wonder at the ease with which Frank seemed to make friends, and to gain a new perspective on a man who had helped so many by his acts of generosity in knowledge and in time.

 

It was a joy to visit his home after the memorial to share a few words with his friends and family. Perhaps there was a desire to find some of him in each other.

 

We will miss him.

 

Erden.

[Alpinfox]

This is very sad news. I generally do not comment on these memorial threads, but in this case I had actually conversed with Frank (online) a few times. I spent some time this morning looking through his old posts and was struck by his eloquence and his friendly, helpful contributions to the board. Very sad. He will be missed.

 

 

 

When Death Comes

 

When death comes

like the hungry bear in autumn

when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

 

to buy me, and snaps his purse shut;

when death comes

like the measle pox;

 

when death comes

like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

 

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering;

what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

 

And therefore I look upon everything

as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,

and I look upon time as no more than an idea,

and I consider eternity as another possibility,

 

and I think of each life as a flower, as common

as a field daisy, and as singular,

 

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth

tending as all music does, toward silence,

 

and each body a lion of courage, and something

precious to the earth.

 

When it's over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was a bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

 

When it's over, I don't want to wonder

if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened

or full of argument.

 

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

 

~Mary Oliver

[Norman_Clyde]

Thanks for the poem, Alpinfox. IMO there are too few that get it right on this subject. This one nails it.

[Coondog]

This is horrible news.

 

R.I.P., climb strong in the afterworld and may your be cold & tasty after.

 

FWIW re: route & conditions, I just returned from a roadtrip which included the Tetons; we'd planned on N Face and N Ridge of the Grand, but bailed after talking to locals who explained that a recent storm had left 2' of snow at 11,000' and higher. Apparently the first guys to climb the Exum 5-6 days following this storm, had taken & used their crampons at several points along upper Exum (5.5 rock under normal conditions). We also followed a guide (from Exum) up the Durrance at Devil's Tower and he confirmed that a lot of Teton routes are full-on Winter conditions now... Thought I'd mention since I think these conditions likely contributed to the decision to turn around...

[erden]

For Frank -- In Memoriam --

 

Please consider donating to Room to Read as was the wish of the family. Frank and Teresa had dreamed of building a school in Nepal for underprivileged children. Please send any donation to Room to Read, a group dedicated to providing reading materials to underprivileged children in Nepal. Send a check, made payable to Room to Read, and In Honor of Frank and Teresa Olding, at: The Presidio, PO Box 29127, San Francisco, CA 94129.

 

Erden.