An incredible achievement.
Jason Black stood taller than all of us this weekend, having reached the summit of K2 on the border of Pakistan and China in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Donegal native conquered the world’s second-highest mountain – only Everest can put it in its shadow, and Jason has already scaled that one – at approximately 7am (3am Irish time).
Having quickly gotten his bearings, he immediately recorded an emotional message for those back home.
The message, posted on his official blog, finds an exhausted, exhilarated and humble Jason taking in his colossal achievement.
“I’m one hell of a proud Irishman. I’m one hell of a proud Donegal man,” says Jason.
“This was hell. This was absolutely hell and back. I’m only halfway there, I have to get down safely, but so far so good.”
Jason then shouted out his family and told them to “never stop reaching for your dreams, never stop reaching for the sky,” a message he extended to his friends and local community.
“Never stop believing,” added Jason. “To my daddy; thanks dad for making me the person I am today. To my sisters, I love you so much. To everybody in my community, I’m so proud. So, so proud.
“I’m going to fly that Irish flag, I’m going to fly that Donegal flag proudly.”
Black went on to thank the Irish Red Cross for allowing him to be their ambassador, and finished off by paying tribute to “the most incredible wife in the world.”
The blog post also includes a terrific shot of Jason and his team at the summit:
Jason asked everyone to keep him in their prayers as he made his way back, and the good news is that he has since safely made his way to Camp 2.
His latest dispatch finds him at the critical safety point of the mountain, and he notes that he’s “absolutely smashed and elated at the same time.”
“K2 is K2. I’ve never been more frightened in my entire life, climbing up the bottle neck,” Jason admits.
“I’m absolutely over the moon with the response from everybody. It’s just an incredible feeling of emotion and pride as a Donegal man.
“I came here in 2015 and it didn’t work out, but I set myself this goal and I smashed it.”
And then some. Congratulations, Jason.
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