Jake Meyer

It was on the descent of Everest in 2005, that Jake first started seriously considering attempting K2 - the second highest mountain in the world and dubbed the 'Savage Mountain'. Due to its size, technical difficulty, steepness, total vertical ascent, remoteness and particularly harsh weather conditions, K2 is considered one of the greatest mountaineering challenges on earth. 533 people have reached earths orbit. Fewer than 360 people have stood on the summit of K2 (there have been at least 364 ascents, but there are a few people who have summitted K2 twice). 

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In 2008, Jake was poised to attempt K2, when only a few months before departure, a key sponsor pulled out, and Jake was forced to cancel his trip. It was possibly a blessing in disguise, as the 2008 season turned into one of the deadliest in K2's history, with 11 climbers dying within a 36 hour period. 

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Jake's first attempt on K2 was as a member of an international team in 2009, led by renowned American alpinist Fabrizio Zangrilli. The team climbed on the Cesen route, fixing all lines themselves, without Sherpa support. In the end deep snow conditions forced them to abandon their summit attempt only 600m from the summit. An account of this attempt was made into the multi-award winning documentary K2:Siren of the Himalayas. 

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Jake returned to K2 in 2016 as part of a British Team, the first to attempt the mountain in over a decade. The British Team was considered one of the strongest on the mountain in the 2016 season, but during the summit attempt, an avalanche destroyed camp 3 at 7300m. When Jake and the Sherpa team reached the site of Camp 3, there was nothing but avalanche debris - all tents, oxygen, rope and equipment had been destroyed, buried or swept away. This event caused all teams on the mountain to call off their summit attempts. 

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In June 2018, Jake returned to K2 for the third time, as part of a small international team. Jake acclimatised on Broad Peak (8047m - the world's 12th highest mountain) in advance - reaching nearly 7900m on a solo summit attempt. On the 21st July, Jake, his team mate Tomas and Sherpas Jangbu, Ang Pasang and Galji reached the summit of K2 and all returned safely. It was a perfect end to a 13 year dream and a 10 year endeavour. 

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