Everest summiteer Jake Meyer has thrown down the gauntlet to stateside climbers by conquering the USA’s 48 continental peaks in record time.

Jake, 23, was the youngest man to climb Everest when he climbed the Himalayan peak, aged 21 in 2005 – a record since broken. He completed the final American peak, Mount Katahdin in Maine, early on Tuesday afternoon, taking 23 days, 19 hours and 31 minutes to complete the round. The previous fastest record holder took six days longer.

The trip, climbing the highest mountain in each of the USA’s 48 continental states, started with the 14 411 ft Mount Rainier and ranged from the lofty 14 497 ft California peak Mount Whitney to the more easily managed Britton Hill in Florida, a mere 345 ft.

Total ascent was 275 909 ft, knocking on for ten Mount Everests, and the team, including six colleagues of Jake’s from Bristol University, drove a total of 12 430 miles.