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Jake Meyer 2008.
Jake Julian Barrington Meyer was
born on 20th January 1984. Educated
at Marlborough College, he read
environmental geoscience at Bristol
University and, whilst there, joined
the University Officer Training
Corps. Attending the shorter TA Commissioning course 081 at Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Royal Wessex Yeomanry in March 2008. During his reserve service, he was deployed on an operational tour of Afghanistan.
Already a keen climber as a teenager, Meyer set himself the goal of being the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits – the highest point on each continent. Ticking off Kilimanjaro at 15, watching the new millennium dawn with his father, he climbed Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest point in Europe, followed by Denali in Alaska, Aconcagua in South America, and Kosciusko in Australia before he turned 19. Collecting Mount Vinson in Antarctica along the way, he attempted the ultimate prize with an assault via the difficult North Col route to finally summit Mount Everest on 4th June 2005. Doubling his ambitions with fundraising, he supported the Make a Wish Foundation during the expedition.
These climbs brought Meyer a number of records, including the youngest Briton (at the time) to climb Everest. Unfortunately, he did not achieve his childhood ambition, being beaten to the Seven Summit record by a younger American climber who climbed Everest just three days before. Later, he made three attempts on the notoriously dangerous K2 mountain, finally succeeding in 2018 and becoming the youngest Briton to reach the summit. During the last two of these expeditions, he raised funds for Walking With The Wounded.
Meyer is also an ambassador for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, The Prince’s Trust, and Walking With The Wounded and, in the 2020 Birthday Honours List, was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to mountaineering and charity. He is a familiar sight around Sandhurst, working for Inspirational Development Group, a leadership training company that uses the facilities in Old College. On 23rd May 2023, having commemorated the king’s coronation at base camp, he climbed Everest for the second time.
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