A jacking system is disclosed in which a hydraulic jack, having a raisable piston, is used, in combination with a jack stand having a raisable support column, to raise a load. In a preferred embodiment, the support column has two components that may telescope into each other and that may be held in fixed position by two ratchet mechanisms. The jack stand is configured so that, when the hydraulic jack is positioned alongside the jack stand, the piston of the hydraulic jack is able to interact with and raise the support column along with the load.