Steven Pollok, who has died aged 37 following a climbing accident in Fort William, will be remembered as a loving husband, a devoted and fun dad, and a natural leader among his climbing friends.
From staging music festivals in his living room to taking his daughter up Ben Nevis at the age of nine, Steven packed a great deal of living into his years.
Steven, an experienced climber with over 500 logged climbs, was climbing at a crag in Glen Nevis with a friend when he took a fall and was injured as a result.
First aid was given at the scene, and a mountain rescue doctor and paramedics attended, but Steven – incredibly sadly – could not be saved.
Steven Pollok’s family have had incredible support from Fort William
His wife, Sarah, and their children Millie, 10, and Hamish, five, say he will never be forgotten as they rebuild their lives, supported by what Sarah describes as the “incredible” community in Fort William.
Steven was born on 17 August 1987 at Wick General Hospital.
One of the first visitors to his bedside was the Queen Mother, who was at the hospital to open its new wing. During her visit, she met four generations of Steven’s family.
His great-grandfather Tom had served as Lord Provost of Thurso and had come to know the Queen Mother, who spent much of her time at the nearby Castle of Mey on the Caithness coast.
Steven was among the first babies born in the newly opened facility.
The family were well known locally. His grandmother Jannette was headmistress of Watten Primary School.
A year or so later, the family moved to Aberdeen after Steven’s father, Stuart, took a job in the oil and gas industry.
After a few years in the city centre, they settled in Newtonhill.
Steven attended Portlethen Academy, where he made many lifelong friends.
He was a bright pupil, and while many of his peers were socialising in town, Steven was nurturing a love of the outdoors with his close friends Liam, Ricky, Spencer and Stuart.
He took to hillwalking – especially in the Cairngorms – and also enjoyed days out on the Aberdeen sea cliffs and at the Pass of Ballater.
Overcoming dyslexia, thanks in part to the dedication of his mum Christine (who died in 2020), he learned to read and write with growing confidence.
Offshore worker
After school, he followed in his father’s footsteps into the oil and gas industry, joining Amec as an electrician on the Dunlin Alpha platform in the North Sea.
While working a two-week-on, three-week-off rota, Steven met Sarah in 2009 at the Aberdeen nightclub Siberia. She was a nurse at the time.
Sarah recalls that their romance developed gradually. With Steven working offshore, it took them time to get to know each other – forming a strong friendship first, which blossomed into love.
Steven’s sister, however, believed it was “love at first sight” for him.
On her first visit to his flat for a home-cooked spaghetti bolognaise, Sarah noticed physics textbooks on the table and assumed another student lived there. Steven explained he had taken up an Open University course for fun, simply because he was “bored.”
He later studied electrical engineering at Robert Gordon’s University.
On Valentine’s Day in 2010, the couple embarked on a 14-hour journey through snow and ice to Duisdale House on Skye – a place they would come to treasure.
But it was Duisdale that remained most special. They were married there in 2014, surrounded by close friends and family.
If a holiday had a hill, all the better
Throughout their marriage and family life, Steven and Sarah travelled widely – across Europe, to Egypt for scuba diving, to Florida, the French Alps, and on a memorable trip to Paris and Disney with the children.
Steven was a loving father and family man. If a holiday happened to involve a hill or a climbing opportunity, all the better.
Sarah said they were both positive and enthusiastic people. She described Steven as a “happy-go-lucky, cheeky chap.”
In 2021, their flat in Aberdeen was becoming too small for their growing family. With concerns about the future of the oil and gas industry, Steven began looking for new work. One opportunity came up in Dunbar, the other in Fort William. The appeal of Ben Nevis on the doorstep made the decision easy.
Initially commuting from Aberdeen and staying with a friend’s aunt in Caol, Steven eventually found the perfect bungalow for the family – set on a hill overlooking Loch Linnhe, and ideal for Hamish, who has mobility issues.
Steven took a job with Alvance British Aluminium in Fort William. Although he worked there just over two years, he built lasting friendships and connections. Even after he moved on, colleagues continued to seek his advice, which he was always happy to share.
He later joined Flotation Energy, working on offshore wind farms and travelling extensively across Europe.
Steven Pollok had logged 500 climbs
A passionate and experienced climber, Steven was dedicated to the sport. He regularly researched routes and rose early to train at the gym.
He logged more than 500 climbs and explored nearly every corner of Scotland. Whenever possible, the family would join him in their campervan.
He was a long-standing member of the Cairngorm and Scottish Mountaineering clubs.
His friends described him as “the Alpha” – their motivator and leader, always inspiring others to get outdoors.
Once on Ben Nevis, Steven broke a bone after sliding down a section and getting his leg stuck behind him. He called Sarah from hospital, telling her: “Don’t panic, I’m in the Belford.”
Another time, his climbing partner Kevin Adam showed up at Sarah’s door looking dishevelled and wearing a cast.
Kevin had fallen on Ben Nevis and been rescued by helicopter, while Steven – uninjured – had opted to walk down.
Speaking at his funeral Kevin said Steven was “funny, loyal, enthusiastic, dependable, driven, great guy, and we are all broken by this”.
Steven inspired his children
Steven’s daughter Millie has been climbing Munros with her dad since she was three, and summited Ben Nevis at nine.
He taught her to read maps and to swim and hoped she would share his love for the mountains.
His son Hamish’s favourite thing was when Steven would stage a “music festival” in the front room.
The two bonded over music, and Steven even taught himself to play guitar from YouTube to connect with his son.
Hamish remembers his dad’s singing fondly, though the rest of the family jokingly recalls his tunes as “tone-deaf.”
Steven believed in helping others live their best lives – and always tried to support others in doing so.
Sarah said: “Right now, none of this seems real. I can still hear him laugh and can still hear him speaking.
“I don’t know what happens when you die, but I want Steven to know we will always love him. He will always be with us.
“I see him in the children every day.
“Wherever he is, I hope there’s good climbing to keep him busy till we meet again. ”
At his funeral, held last week, there was a collection for Lochaber Mountain Rescue, with more than £2,000 raised in Steven’s name.
He will be fondly missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife Sarah, children Millie and Hamish, and his father Stuart, who now lives in the Netherlands.
Have you signed up for our Oban and Hebrides newsletter?
Every week our Oban-based reporter Louise Glen curates the best news in the area.
Sign up here for local news straight to your inbox. And if you’d like to join the conversation on West Coast Chat on Facebook, we’d love to hear from you.
Conversation