Expeditions
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.
