{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"On 11 August 2025, inspirational mountaineer and Scouts volunteer, Kirsty Mack, became the first Scottish woman known to summit K2, the second highest mountain in the world.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAt 8,611 metres (just 240 metres below Everest), K2 is considered the toughest as well as the second highest. The climb came with extra challenges for Kirsty, who\u2019s originally from Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, and now lives in Bridge of Allan, Scotland.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA skiing accident in 2021 left her without use of her dominant arm. Now, following rehabilitation and several operations, her \u2018Surgery to Summit\u2019 project set out to show that injury doesn\u2019t end ambition.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/kjmkzy03/kirsty-mack-2.jpg","width":2950,"height":1747,"altText":"The image shows Kirsty Mack in a snow suit stood at summit K2. She\u0027s looking at the camera and wearing sunglasses while holding a photo of her father in two hands.","caption":"Kirsty brought a photo on her climb to summit K2 to honour her dad, who hugely inspired her love of adventure.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EA personal challenge\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKirsty\u2019s achievement carried extra personal meaning: she climbed in memory of her father, Thomas Angus Mack MBE (Royal Air Force), a long serving Scout volunteer of 70 years himself and recipient of the Silver Wolf Award, and grandfather, Reuben Marshall Rogers (Royal Corps of Signals). Both were cared for by Erskine Veterans Charity, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022http://www.justgiving.com/page/kirsty-mack-10\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EKirsty is fundraising for Erskine in their honour\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWaiting weeks for a safe weather window, Kirsty finally reached the summit on 11 August at 15:32 local time \u2013 one of the few August ascents in history, with the last notable one in 2011. Kirsty joins Scots Bruce Normand (2007) and Alasdair McKenzie (2023) in summiting K2, but she\u2019s the first Scottish woman known to do so, verified against public expedition records.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"\u2018This summit was for my dad, my grampa, and every veteran who reminds us that courage isn\u2019t about never falling \u2013 it\u2019s about always getting back up. K2 has been my dream since childhood. My dad used to bring home posters of British mountaineers from the Dundee Mountain Film Festival. Those images lit a fire in me and K2 was always the ultimate challenge.","attribution":"Kirsty Mack","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EK2 is the fourth 8,000-metre peak Kirsty has climbed, adding to an extraordinary list that includes six of the Seven Summits and 25 Alpine 4,000 metre peaks. Yet she admits: \u2018My heart is still in the Scottish hills. That\u2019s where my love for the outdoors began.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/lljbifwd/kirsty-earning-her-20-years-of-service-award.jpg","width":442,"height":298,"altText":"The image shows Kirsty Mack earning her 20 years of service award. She\u0027s stood with a black coat on, next to another volunteer who\u0027s on the left of the photo. They\u0027re both smiling at the camera as Kirsty holds her award certificate up.","caption":"Kirsty receiving her Commendation Award from George Burnett","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E20 years of volunteering for Scouts\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKirsty is a Scout volunteer of 20 years. She was awarded the long-service honour last year, as well as a \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/learning-development-and-awards/awards-and-recognition/awarding-a-commendation-award/\u0022 title=\u0022Awarding a Commendation Award\u0022\u003ECommendation Award\u003C/a\u003E. She hopes her journey will inspire young people to persevere through life\u2019s challenges.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut for now, Kirsty sights are set firmly on home. In terms of what\u2019s next, Kirsty says \u2018I\u2019ll spend time back in the Scottish hills with my beloved dog, Morar \u2013 the place where it all began for me.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"27 August 2025","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Support Kirsty\u0027s fundraising for Erskine Veterans Charity","url":"http://www.justgiving.com/page/kirsty-mack-10","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Read about Kirsty reaching the summit of Everest","url":"/news/2023/september/stirling-effort-the-scout-on-the-summit-of-everest/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":86935,"nodeName":"Scouts volunteer becomes first Scottish woman to summit K2","title":"Scouts volunteer becomes first Scottish woman to summit K2 ","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/kjmkzy03/kirsty-mack-2.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dc175112aeaee0","caption":"Kirsty Mack 2","type":"jpg","size":1126355,"width":2950,"height":1747,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Scouts volunteer becomes first Scottish woman to summit K2 ","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Inspirational mountaineer and Scouts volunteer, Kirsty Mack, became the first Scottish woman known to summit K2.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC84NjkzNSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2025/august/scouts-volunteer-becomes-first-scottish-woman-to-summit-k2/"}