Adventure Timeline

On a friend’s dare, Eddie leads his first expedition across Africa in British Army Land Rovers via the Sahara. The expedition is planned for 4 months, and cost $850 to join. That’s where it all started.

Adding to the excitement, while in Benin in West Africa they get stopped at a roadblock. The soldiers at the roadblock think that the group are mercenaries and take the group to prison. Eddie and the US consul hatch a trick to get the group out of captivity – but only after having spent two weeks there. That was Africa in the crazy 1970’s.

Eddie leads 16 adventurers in a 6-ton truck across the Congo River on a barge, built out of three canoes roped together. The year before a friend sunk a similar truck in the river.

During these early years Eddie crosses Africa a lot, including 33 times across the Sahara Desert. On numerous occasions he gets lost in the desert, but eventually finds his way out. He says that each time he crossed Africa he feels like he is stepping into another world, full of fascinating cultures, traditions, and landscapes.

Teaming up with NASA astronomer, Dr. Laurance Doyle, Eddie leads and expedition to NAMORATUNGA in north Kenya, a remote site with a 2,000-year history. They discover that a now-extinct pastoralist people used stone pillars as an observatory.

The site is known as NAMORATUNGA which means “people of stone. ” A local legend says that men turned to stone if they laughed or cried while the devil sang his song. Frank and Doyle still run astronomy trips to view solar eclipses.

Eddie moves Tusker’s safari base from East Africa to Zambia at the Victoria Falls. This turns out to be exactly where his parents had their honeymoon in 1951!

Now located close to the Zambesi River, Eddie runs leads exciting scouting trips into western Zambia and takes his groups canoeing down the Zambesi River amongst hippos and crocodiles, viewing the massive herds of elephants and other wildlife on the riverbanks.

When crossing borders on an expedition, Eddie uses a savvy mix of diplomacy, political awareness, and an occasional ”gift.” His advice: Always be respectful, extremely patient, and buddy up with the border guards.

Around midnight on a safari some lions start playing with the tents flapping in the wind. Eddie gets up and chases the cats away with a flaming log from the campfire.

Eddie Frank’s belief in helping others prompts Tusker to start running Kilimanjaro charity climbs. The first climb by the Make-a-Wish Foundation starts a trend that continues to this day, with over $13,000,000 raised so far on Tusker’s climbs.

A charity climb is an incredible way to take on the personal challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro’s summit on a life changing adventure and change the life of others at the same time. The feeling is beyond rewarding.

Eddie saw that first aid training didn’t address the majority of medical issues that occur at high altitude. So he and Tusker’s medical advisors create the High Altitude First Responder (HAFR) course on Kilimanjaro.

The HAFR course spans five days with a 100% focus on high altitude medical conditions where guides learn how to monitor, detect and treat altitude problems. This medical course is recognized by leading altitude physicians all over the world.

On Friday, Aug 1, 2008, Tusker and NASA astrophysicist, Dr. Laurance Doyle lead 47 adventurers to the remote far west of Mongolia to experience the magical total Solar Eclipse.

The path of totality begins in northern Canada where the moon's shadow first touches the earth, then for two hours it moves across the Arctic, central Russia, till it passes over the Tusker group, camped in Mongolia's Altai Mountains.

Tusker teams up on Kilimanjaro with Dr. Greg Bledsoe and Dr. Michael Callahan to run its first wilderness medical training course for medical professionals, where they earn CME study credits.

When climbing Kilimanjaro on a CME climb your multi-day live activity workshop occurs while climbing the slopes of Kilimanjaro. You participating in medical activities and classes required to earn the CME credits to maintain your medical license.

Eddie and Amy brainstorm on how to create a unique and well-designed Kilimanjaro mountain meal experience. They engage the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to train its team of cooks. In a mountain first, CIA Master Chef James Hanyzeski flies to Tanzania to train and climb with the cooking team.

Your entire climbing menu is designed by Amy Frank, a nutrition expert, along with CIA Professor of Culinary Arts, David Kamen. Together they create a delicious climb-specific menu, using locally grown food and produce.

After two years of scouting, Tusker mounts its first trek in the magical kingdom of Bhutan. Deep in the Himalayas, Bhutan is known for its majestic monasteries, healthy forests and breathtaking mountains defining the Himalayas. It is also one of the most rugged places on earth for trekking.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is also known as the Land of the Thunder Dragon, and when you trek there, its ancient beauty, mythical lure, and rich cultural heritage captivate you.

Since Tusker's first charity climb for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in 2001, climbers raise a total of $13,000,000 for 77 large and small charities on Tusker's Kilimanjaro charity climbs over the years.

Climbing Kilimanjaro for charity is an incredible way for you to take on your personal challenge of Kilimanjaro’s summit, embark on a life changing adventure, and change the life of others who can certainly use the help.

Amy and Eddie Frank, with biologist Thomas Rüegg publish the definitive Field Guide to the Flora of Kilimanjaro that has become a must-have for climbers from around the world.

The variety of flora on Kilimanjaro is vast and spectacular. It takes them ten years to complete book. This great resource gives you a greater appreciation of the diversity Kilimanjaro's vegetation while climbing through the magnificent landscapes.