15 April 2024 , 17:01
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Little Frankie McMillan has made it to Everest base camp and yesterday declared he was over the moon about his incredible feat.
The eight-year-old schoolboy has been climbing with mountain guide mum Basia since he was a toddler and dreams of conquering the world ’s highest summit. He even has a picture of the peak on his bedroom wall. And his dream came closer as he made it to base camp, which is 17,598ft above sea level.
As the Mirror revealed last month, Frankie had warmed up by becoming the youngest Briton to climb 9,573ft Mount Olympus in Greece.
The intrepid youngster has tackled more than 500 mountains and hills, including England’s highest peak, 3,208ft Scafell Pike, when he was four. He has all 214 Wainwrights in the Lake District under his belt and said of his Everest trek: “I felt so proud of myself. I was over the moon.”
(PA)Mum Basia, 40, added: “It was such a rewarding experience. Frankie was very proud of himself but I was even more proud. I was proud not of myself but of him. I was watching him touching the base camp rock and seeing him make his dreams come true. It was supporting my son fulfilling his dreams which was just priceless.”
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She added: “Imagine the conversations at school, ‘What did you do on your halftime break? ‘I just climbed Everest base camp.’”
With mum Basia (PA)
Frankie is the youngest Briton to climb Mt Olympus in Greece (PA)Her son was “absolutely fine”, despite frequent headaches while he trekked to the camp of the 29,032ft summit. “If anything, I think he was stronger than me,” his mum added. “We kept encouraging each other, bouncing from each other. When I was struggling, Frankie would encourage me, and when he was struggling, I would encourage him.”
(PA)And fellow mountaineers were “so welcoming”. “No one could really believe where we were going,” she said. “People passing by were stopping and taking photos and videos of Frankie. When we got to the top they were cheering for him and clapping, which was so rewarding.”
And Frankie described his climb as “amazing” and “much more fun” than he had anticipated.
“He still wants to go higher and I really don’t think there’s anything stopping him now,” added Basia.
The pair, of Gosforth, Cumbria, have raised £1,800 for children’s charity Make-A-Wish Foundation UK.