AN IRISH ADVENTURER has reached the summit of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world.

Jason Black, originally from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, reached the peak of the notoriously treacherous mountain at around 3am Irish time on Sunday.

He is only the third Irish person ever to reach the summit of K2, doing so around 24 hours after Noel Hanna from Co Down became the first person from Northern Ireland to scale the mountain.

Both men’s achievements come ten years after Limerick native Ger McDonnell scaled the 8.6km peak.

However, McDonnell subsequently died with ten other climbers on his descent.

Announcing the news on his website, Black said he was a “proud Irishman” and thanked everyone who followed his journey at home for their “well wishes, support and prayers”.

In a second message posted later, he announced that he had reached Camp Two on his descent and was below the “critical safety point of the mountain”.

He said: “[I'm] absolutely smashed. It’s the only word I can use, but [I'm] elated at the same time.”

He also paid tribute to McDonnell, saying the late climber’s legacy would “always live on”.

Less than 350 people have ever reached the summit of K2, which is known as the ‘Savage Mountain’ because of the extreme difficulty of its ascent, while around one in four people die while attempting to reach the summit.