Kingfisher man fosters his dream of finding Noah's Ark

By Ron Jackson

Published: September 7, 2008

KINGFISHER — Plagued by Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's, Pat Frost refuses to surrender entirely those adventurous days when he once searched for Noah's Ark.

Frost's memories of eight expeditions to Turkey remain embedded in his mind, just as the legendary vessel might still be embedded in ice high atop Mount Ararat. The retired Oklahoma educator is simply running out of time to tell his story.

"He has his good days and bad days, but there is still much that he remembers,” said Cynthia Ruckman, of Leroy, Kan., the youngest of Frost's four children.

"Everywhere we go, people still remember him for his Ark expeditions. They always ask him questions.

"... Whenever Dad begins talking about Noah's Ark, they always consider it such a treat.”

Frost, 77, spent 35 years in search of Noah's Ark. His quest began with a moment of chance in 1970 while attending an educational convention in Washington. One night, while resting in his hotel room, he read a newspaper article that detailed one group's quest to discover Noah's Ark.

"I showed the article to a couple of friends, and we all kind of laughed and that was that,” Frost said. "But that night, I laid down in bed and I couldn't sleep. I had all these questions in my head.

"What if it was really up there on Mount Ararat? The history of the world would be forever changed.”

A journey begins

Frost became instantly hooked.

The next morning, Frost telephoned R.E. Crawford, then-president of Search Foundation Inc. — the organization dedicated to finding the legendary Ark. Soon, Frost was boarding an airliner for Turkey, where Mount Ararat is located in a precarious border region, then shared by the Soviet Union and Iran.

Today, Mount Ararat is framed by Turkey, Russia, Armenia and Iran. Stories are still rampant in the territory of armed military guards, smugglers and bandits who roam the rocky trails and narrow passes of the sacred mountain.

"Fear never entered my mind,” Frost said. "I always felt I was doing God's will.”

On his first expedition, he met a young Armenian named Yasar by chance at a Turkish bus station. Yasar told Frost that his uncle — Ahmet Ali Arslan — grew up in a village at the foot of Mount Ararat, and that he would probably help him find Noah's Ark.

Despite the language barrier, Frost became a trusted family friend.

"They liked me and treated me very kindly,” Frost recalled. "They took me into their homes, always preparing their very best meals for me. I felt honored.”

Frost quizzed local villagers, looking for clues. Between expeditions, Frost immersed himself in the more than 200 alleged eyewitness accounts of the Ark, studied various histories, lectured and exercised daily in preparation for his next journey.

Astronaut joins search

Before long, Frost walked among noted Ark hunters such as astronaut James Irwin, who once spent three days at Frost's Kingfisher County home talking about the moon and Noah's Ark. Conversations always trailed back to Mount Ararat.

"The locals have no doubt the Ark is on Mount Ararat,” Frost said. "But nobody could ever take me to it. I never did see the Ark. Then again, it could have been two or three feet below the surface and I never would have known with all the snow and ice.”

Guides routinely accompanied Frost up the mountain, which peaks at 16,854 feet and remains capped in ice year-round above 13,000 feet. Along the way, he dodged numerous dangers such as seemingly bottomless ice crevasses, avalanches and landslides.

Once, Frost glanced upward and "saw the mountain coming down on of us.” He hid behind a rock and escaped without a scratch.

These days, Frost lives in Kansas with his youngest daughter, content with his memories of adventure. He passed the torch long ago by giving the next generation of Ark seekers and researchers his photographs, books and documents from his private collection.

The one thing he won't yield is his belief that Noah's Ark is atop Mount Ararat.

"I believe it's up there,” Frost said. "I'm convinced. Will it be found? Maybe. Personally, I think God will some day reveal the Ark to the world.”

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