A Climber We Lost: Daniel Frandson

You can read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2024 here.

Daniel Victor Frandson was born in McCall, Idaho but spent most of his upbringing and adult life in and around Boise. An extremely talented student, he studied in honors programs throughout primary school, and in high school earned a gold medal on the prestigious National Latin Exam, among other accolades. After briefly attending the Franciscan University of Steubenville to pursue engineering, Frandson, at 19, took a role at Asana Climbing Gym and quickly became a much-loved member of the Asana family. He drowned while bridge jumping with a friend on Idaho’s Payette River on May 31. He was 24 years old.

With climbing, Frandson “took a hobby and turned it into his way of life,” his family wrote in his obituary. First as a routestripper, and later as a setter, Frandson was a tireless worker, and soon served as Asana’s jack-of-all-trades. “Daniel was passionate, meticulous, and detail-oriented,” fellow routesetter and close friend Brannon Frank told Climbing.

Though Frandson climbed V10, Frank said that what he’ll remember most about his late friend wasn’t how strong of a boulderer he was, but his deep-seated belief in the importance of the little things, even seemingly minor and inconsequential details. “He always wanted everything to be perfect—not only the movement [of the climb], but the angle of our start tags, the look of the down-climbing jugs, the design details of our foothold carts,” Frank recalled. The gym valued Frandson’s dogged work ethic so much that they humorously created a “Daniel Multiplier (3x), that we applied to the budget of any project that he was working on.”

“[Daniel] was a floral shirt rockin’, subtle pun master who was involved in EVERY aspect of the route setting process,” Asana Climbing Gym wrote following his death, “from stripping routes, to washing and repairing holds, creating tags and placards, even manufacturing holds and volumes from scratch.”

For Frandson, everything that went into climbing was a joy, and no task was too trivial. “His attention to detail … extended to everything he touched, and it truly transformed Asana for the better,” the gym added. “He created better systems and more efficient processes. He created setting carts to make it easier for setters to have everything they needed close by during the setting process and save time.”

In addition to making his own climbing holds and volumes for the gym, Frandson hand-crafted a faux triangular volume, textured and painted to match the gym’s walls, to serve as a suggestion box for gym members. At the time of his death, he had several side projects in-progress, from sketching climbing shoe designs to starting his own business producing custom chalk bags and holds. He’d also developed his own proprietary formula to texturize his holds.

Off the wall, Frandson’s energy and attention to detail manifested in a staggering array of other interests. “Daniel was an inventor,” his family wrote, “a woodworker, a custom quiver maker, a knitter, sewist, embroiderer, a spider silk rosary maker, a calligrapher, and a wax sealer of cards and letters. He was a highly skilled archer, a card and knife thrower, a fight choreographer, a reluctant fisherman, a hot air balloon crew member, a mannequin poser, a juggler, a ballroom dancer, a pool player, an amazing chess player, a Harry Potter and general trivia master, a photographer, and a tremendous napper.”

A particularly keen cinephile from a young age, Frandson crafted cosplay costumes for his favorite film characters, like the Green Arrow, King Arthur, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Aguilar de Nerha (of Assassin’s Creed). He also hand-crafted replicas of objects from his favorite fantasy universes, including a recreation of the Red Book of Westmarch, a fictional hobbit-authored manuscript from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, using a traditional quill and ink to write and illustrate the tome. Frandson was a sponsor for the Sun Valley Film Festival, and co-produced and acted in a variety of independent film and television productions, including the 2011 indie film Magic Valley.

“When I think of Daniel, he reminds me that being excellent in the little things can make a big difference,” said Frank. “What I remember most about climbing with him is his love for climbing movement, and his supportive kindness. In particular he loved toe hooks, jumps—especially if they required complicated, coordination-based movement—and unique grips. He was always so eager to support his friends with spots, moving pads, belays, and capturing footage. In these ways and others, I strive to be more like Daniel. For these reasons and many more, he will be deeply missed.”

Daniel Frandson is survived by his parents, Dan and Patricia, and older sister, Kristina.

You can read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2024 here.

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