Footloose Expedition to Mt Kilimanjaro 5,896m/19,340ft

December 1999 aged 15

Footloose Expedition to Mt Kilimanjaro 5,896m/19,340ft. The first of his continental high points, Jake travelled to Tanzania with Hugh, his father, to climb Africa’s highest mountain. Jake (then aged 15) and Hugh arrived at the summit to watch the dawn of the new Millennium; the 1st January 2000.

Marlborough College Expedition to Cerro Aconcagua

December 2000 aged 16
With a team made up almost entirely of 16 year olds, Jake was struck down by severe altitude sickness at the final camp at over 6000m. With the help of his team, he descended back to Basecamp, and rapidly recovered. Unfortunately, none of the expedition summited, but the trip proved invaluable as an experience of teamwork in the mountains.

7summits.com Expedition to Mt Elbrus 5,642m/18,481ft

July 2002 aged 18

With his father Hugh, Jake travelled to the Caucasus on the Russian/Georgian border to climb Europe’s highest mountain. All of the international team (which included British, American, Australian and German climbers) summited.

Cerro Aconcagua 6,962m/22,835ft

November-December 2002 aged 18

Jake returned to South America’s highest mountain in Argentina for a solo unsupported ascent. After 10 hard days of battling through storms and unusually cold weather, he reached the summit, and became the youngest person in the world to solo the Aconcagua (the highest mountain outside Asia).

7summits.com Expedition to Mt McKinley/Denali 6,194m/20,230ft

June 2003 aged 19

With a team of Dutch climbers, Jake managed to climb North America’s highest peak in half the time of a usual ascent. After only 11 days, they reached the summit, and Jake still had the energy to do a headstand on the highest point in the Alaska Range.

Mt Kosciusko 7,316 ft

September 2004 aged 20

Australia’s highest mountain, located in the Great Snowy Mountains in New South Wales is regarded as by far the easiest of the 7 summits. However, when Jake decided to attempt a solo winter ascent of the mountain, the unusually severe weather conditions forced him to have to make two attempts and was nearly the end of him. Expecting a walk in the park, and experiencing ‘the worst conditions he’d ever encountered in the mountains’ made the trip, ironically, one of the more memorable of his adventures.

Adventure Peaks Vinson Massif Expedition 4,897m/16,067ft

December 2004 aged 20

On A/Ps first ever expedition to Vinson, the highest mountain in the Antarctic, Jake became the youngest person in the world to climb the mountain aged only 20. Despite temperatures as low as -70ºC, and having to have a team mate evacuated after he fell down a crevasse, Jake, Martin Doyle and Lee Farmer made it to the summit.

Adventure Peaks Everest North Ridge Expedition 8,850m/29,035ft

April-June 2005 aged 21

On the 4th June 2005, Jake stood on the summit of Mt Everest, becoming the Youngest Briton to climb Everest and the Youngest Man in the world to climb the 7 summits. He reached the summit at 6.30am Nepalese time along with his expedition leader Di Gilbert and 2 Sherpas. Battling against the worst weather the mountain has experienced in 45 years, the team summited on day 64 of the expedition.

Freestyle Challenge 48 sponsored by Standard Life Bank

July - August 2006 Aged 22

Jake led a team of 6 British adventurers around the USA in a bid to break the world record for climbing the highest mountain in every state in the lower 48. The previous record had been set only the year before at a seemingly unbreakable 29 days and 20 hours. On the 2nd August Jake reached the summit of Mt Katahdin in Maine, his 48th highpoint. 48 States, over 100,000ft of climbing, 350 miles of trekking and 15,000 miles of driving in 23 days, 19 hours and 31 minutes.

Thames bathtub adventure

September 2007

Jake paddled 65 miles down the River Thames in a bathtub to raise money for the Redcross Flood Relief Fund. This is still an open-ended expedition, and oneday, he hopes to return to complete the journey. n.b. Bathtubs are not the most hydrodynamically designed modes of transport - he averaged about 1.5-2 mph!

Venezuela and Ecuador

November - December 2007

Jake travelled to South America to climb in Venezuela and Ecuador, and amongst other peaks climbed Pico Bolivar and Chimborazo (the highest mountain from the centre of the earth).

England County Highpoints

June 2008

Jake climbed to the highest point in every one of England's 82 counties in a breathtaking 7 days 4 hours and 20 minutes. Several members of the American Freestyle team (Saskia, Wally and Beany) aided him by driving between the points. Notable ascents include Hull (11m above sea level!) and Black Chew (Greater Manchester) which had horizontal rain and zero visibility!

Adventure Peaks Kyrgyzstan Expedition

July - August 2008

Jake was part of a team who spent time climbing in an unexplored valley in the Tien Shan Mountain Range in Kyrgyzstan. They also made an attempt on Khan Tengri (7010m) the highest mountain in Kazakhstan, but after climbing a 6300m mountain to reach the highcamp in a col, they spent 5 days trapped in a storm before being forced to abandon their attempt.

Morocco

December 2008

Jake and Saskia traveled to Morocco to do a winter ascent of Jebel Toubkal (4165m), the highest mountain in North Africa. It was Saskia's first ever 'proper' mountain!

Morocco

March 2009

Jake led a team of 34 out to the Sahara in western Morocco on an expedition to build a bridge in a remote Berber Community. As well as the building project, they also undertook a 2 day camel trek into Erg Chebbi, one of the largest sand dune systems in Northwest Africa.

K2

June/July/August 2009

Jake was part of an international team of climbers attempting to climb the SSE Spur (The Cezen) during the summer of 2009. After nearly 2 months the remaining climbers made a last ditch attempt on the summit but were hampered by deep snow towards the top of the mountain. After Jake's oxygen system failed at 7300m, he carried on climbing to 7650m with a 25kg pack before deciding to turn back. 3 member of the team made it to 8000m, but we unable to carry on to the summit due to the snow conditions.