Great grandad is summit special
Frank climbs Ben Nevis in memory of loved ones
An inspirational great grandad from East Kilbride has achieved a monumental life goal ahead of his 80th birthday – scaling Britain’s highest mountain in memory of his late wife, son and daughter.
Brave Frank Buskie toasted his lost loved ones with a dram as he reached the 4411ft summit of Ben Nevis along with his proud daughter Caroline McCabe.
The intrepid 79-year-old dadof-four and grandad-of-nine, from Westwood, had dreamed of ticking the mammoth expedition off his bucket list ever since losing his beloved Betty and on Saturday, supported by a dozen friends and family, he accomplished his goal – on the fifth anniversary of her death.
Speaking to the News yesterday, Caroline, a keen hillwalker, described her dad as a “total inspiration”, saying: “My dad did it – he reached the summit of Ben Nevis!
“Five years ago he put it on his bucket list and, with no training whatsoever (apart from walking up the 125 stairs from Westwood Hill to the water tower for the last week), he achieved his goal – not bad for someone who turns 80 next month.
“I’m the proudest daughter on the planet. He is a total inspiration.
“I’ve climbed Ben Nevis three times and I wasn’t sure my dad could do it because of his age and his bad knee but he proved me wrong with his sheer determination.
“He’s inspired so many people to achieve their goals.”
A family hit by tragedy, the poignant day was also in loving memory of Frank’s son, Frankie, who was tragically killed in a car crash 33 years ago, aged 21.
And during the charity climb funds were raised in aid of Marie Curie to give something back to the nurses who looked after Frank’s daughter Jacqueline before she passed away from a brain tumour in 2014, aged 44.
Caroline, 44, added: “As a family we’ve had a lot of sadness. We’ve lost my mum, my sister and my brother and my dad lost three of his sisters within a year.
“This is a day I’m sure we will all remember forever.”
Well-known locally as ‘Big Frank’, the popular character and regular of the Westwood Bar and Westwood Golf Club inspired his pals to join in the trek over a pint.
And, despite Caroline’s warnings about the difficulties that lay ahead, bold Frank was determined nothing was going to stop him giving it a go.
After walking for hours up steep stone steps and crossing over treacherous terrain, the sun shone brightly as the group reached the summit and enjoyed the spectacular views from the top.
Caroline admitted she held back tears as she filmed her dad proudly touching the Cairn – which marks the highest point – and toasted a dram before the steep decent back down to the bottom.
She said: “Myself and my brother Tony are extremely proud of our dad’s amazing achievement as are his many grand and great grandchildren and his many friends and family – not to mention the 2000 people on The Scottish Hillwalking and Wild Camping Facebook page who have been inspired by his great effort and achievement.
“Twenty-five people from the Westwood Bar have already signed up to do the challenge next year.”
Frank was given a standing ovation by his drinking buddies as he kicked off the celebrations the next night.
Describing the exhilarating feeling as he reached the top, Frank quipped: “I felt like James Cagney – on top of the world! I might tackle Everest next.”
He added: “I’d thought about it for years and wanted to prove to himself that I could do it before I turned 80.
“I couldn’t have done it without Caroline. I would also like to thank the staff of the Westwood Bar for all their words of encouragement.
“Hopefully many people can be inspired by my story and realise that if you really want to do something – never give up.”
I felt like James Cagney – on top of the world! I might tackle Everest next.