Cumbria’s Frankie McMillan captured the nation’s attention when he took on Everest at eight – but after such a big challenge, what comes next?
Frankie and his mum Basia, of Gosforth, reached Everest Base Camp back in April after a tough 11-day trek, all while raising money for charity.
It was a dream trek for Frankie – who has a mural of Everest on his bedroom wall – and was something the pair had spent months preparing for.
He’s now one of a handful of children worldwide who have reached Everest Base Camp and his infectious love for adventure has seen him scoop awards and speak on stage as a young ambassador of the outdoors.
While Frankie’s love for hiking started in the Lake District with nearly two full rounds of the 214 Wainwrights, his interest in adventure is now taking him all over the world.
Basia said for her, it’s all been about standing back and following Frankie’s lead.
She said: “When we got to Base Camp, it was just unbelievable. We had been thinking about it for so long and Frankie has always talked about Everest, so even though we know it happened, it didn’t feel like it did.
“We were obviously very very excited when we were up there and people were congratulating him and taking pictures with him, but it was honestly just taking the days as they came.
“So when we left and started walking down, we sort of felt a bit sad after all the waiting and working towards the goal to then be walking away from it.
“When we got on the airplane to fly home, he said oh I’m really sad mummy that it’s now all over and he said he thought we needed to find another goal to look forward to.
“Walking in the Lake District we knew we wanted a bigger challenge, so we did Olympus and he did well with that and that progressed us to Base Camp and now we’re thinking about the next challenges we want to do.”
Coming up with future adventures is something Basia and Frankie enjoy doing together – and they’ve no shortage of both long-term and short-term goals.
Basia said: “We look at maps and read books about mountains in Frankie’s room and say where we want to go and plan it together.
“We have lots of plans and a big list of things we want to do. He wants to get to the top of Everest by 10 – although I’m not sure that will happen!
“You need a lot of practice in Arctic conditions and international trips to glaciers would be needed for that. But the youngest person to ever get to Everest top was 14, so he does have six years to go and it’s definitely in his plans.
“But I remember when he started walking I never ever thought for a second he would reach Everest Base Camp just a few years later.
“Another big dream that he really wants to do is the Seven Summits, which is the highest mountains in seven continents.”
The duo are also planning to take on more treks for the record books later this year and next.
Basia said: “We are working on a big adventure for next February, which will be a massive challenge and in October we’re going to Morocco to do five peaks in a five day traverse in the High Atlas Mountains including Toubkal.
“The three highest peaks of the five are considered Morocco’s version of the Three Peaks Challenge.
“I have done a lot of research of past records regarding children climbing this route and I have contacted many local and international guides and our guide did the same for me.
“The messages I got back were ‘they believe that there’s no other child’ who has done this traverse in the past.
“I know of a couple of children who’ve climbed Toubkal on its own, so I’m not worried about it. Only two have done it from the UK, so from what we know he will be the youngest person to summit all three peaks.”
Fundraising for different charities has been a big part of Frankie and Basia’s adventures and has seen them raise thousands of pounds for mountain rescue and the Make A Wish foundation.
The duo are planning to continue their fundraising and launch one big fundraising push as part of their February 2025 adventure.
For many parents, the idea of taking on a fell with young children – let alone Everest Base Camp or Mount Olympus – is nerve-wracking, but Basia said she feels it’s all about listening to your child and knowing when to turn back.
She said: “With Everest Base Camp I had my moments where I thought, am I doing the right thing? Am I being reckless taking my child up there? But through lots of reading and research I found whether you’re four or seven or 15, the body reacts the same.
“So I felt not letting him do it now and waiting would only mean facing the same risks at 14. It’s always a worry because you never know what’s going to happen, but I think that’s always something you worry about as a mother.
“It doesn’t have to be climbing a mountain, it can be sending them to high school or on a school trip or residential, there will always be something and I think you just have to support them in their choices and help them chase their dreams.”
Basia said that her confidence to take Frankie to Everest Base Camp came from experimenting with longer treks in the Lake District.
She said: “Walking in the Lake District and doing long treks and few days in a row treks definitely gave me the confidence when it comes to physical ability to know he can walk all day.
“It started with Catbells, he was only three and I didn’t think he would make it, but he loved it. I think it’s important to listen to what they want to do and at the same time be realistic and in the worst case scenario turn back.
“That’s a very important part as well, it’s not ‘right you must do it and if you don’t achieve your goal you fail’, because you are setting them up to fail. But if you’re always thinking we might not make it and that’s fine, you relax more and the day is more enjoyable as well.
“We did Fairfield Horseshoe recently and he asked to play football straight after we did it, so with things like that I knew he’d be absolutely fine for stamina and energy.”
Making it to Everest Base Camp is no easy feat – it’s a trek that many adults struggle to take on, but Basia and Frankie managed it with very few issues.
She added: “The trip really had nothing to do with me, it was Frankie’s dream. He would go ahead and I would follow him, so I was more like a support team and he was the main event.
“We never knew if we would manage it because we pinkie promised ourselves that if any point we didn’t enjoy it or felt unwell that we would go back.
“Even though I believed in us and I believed in Frankie, there’s no given that you’ll be able to do it so it was a great surprise and achievement that we managed.
“Every day brought something new and there were days Frankie was fed up and days when I couldn’t motivate myself, but we bounced off each other and he would say come on we can do it and I’d do the same for him.
“But everything is very different up there, there’s no showers and no heating and it’s 6am starts every day over and over again. But Frankie was great, he wasn’t fed up with it and he was very strong. If anything he faired better than me!”
Frankie’s story has inspired people across Cumbria and far beyond – but Basia said she never expected Frankie’s story to travel so far.
She said: “I am very proud of him. We get messages from parents saying they’re inspired and wanting to take their children walking and it means a lot to us because it means we’re doing some good.
“A teacher actually stopped us and asked for a picture when we were going to Base Camp. He said he had been teaching in a school in Manchester and used Frankie as an example to show them that nothing is impossible.
“But there was never any secret plan to make Frankie famous, it’s all come as a surprise and when someone recognises him and congratulates him he’s very happy when it happens.
“Frankie was actually the reason I decided to do my mountain guide qualifications as well. A lot of people think ‘oh his mum is a mountain guide’, but it actually started the other way around.
“He was walking so much I started putting up community walks saying look, my three-year-old is going, come and join us for a social walk and I then turned it into a business.”
Basia said that both herself and Frankie have learnt a lot from their adventures so far.
She said: “There’s been so much to learn, definitely things like never giving up, dreaming big and also the fact that not everything is as easy as you think and sometimes you have to go back and try again.
“All of which can be applied in every day situations and future adult life, and not only on the mountain.
“Mountain adventures with Frankie have taught me that is doesn’t matter what age you are, even when you’re a little human, you still have big plans and big dreams for the future and they need to be taken seriously.
“Encouraging children in their choices and allowing them and giving them the opportunity to fulfil their dream is equally important at any age.
“You never know if a school boy crush will develop into a full blown love affair, they feel and dream as big as us adults do.
“Our adventures have so taught me more about my son as a person, who he is, what he likes and his character and they have brought us closer together, we say we are the dream team.
“It has also taught me that Frankie’s achievements are my achievements, meaning that if he reaches his goal and is proud about it, it feels like my achievement and his goals are my goals.”
