At the age of 29, author, speaker and adventurer Alan Hobson set out to realize his greatest childhood dream. It took him 10 grueling expeditions to high altitude, three to Mt. Everest, and a decade of intense fundraising, training and organizational effort before he finally stood on top of the world. As he gazed out from the highest physical point on the planet, tears froze to his face. He could see the curvature of the Earth as the horizon bent in his peripheral vision at 29,035 feet.
“Half the dream is done,” the then 39-year-old radioed to base camp as his voice cracked with emotion, “If we’re persistent enough, we can do the dreams.”
Incredibly, an even greater challenge lay ahead. Three years after stepping down from the summit of Everest, Alan came face-to-face with “The Everest of Illnesses” when he was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the blood and given less than a year to live. Using the hard-won lessons he learned through his many adventures worldwide, he chose to ignore solid medical evidence that there was an 85 per cent chance he would die, and thanks to raw courage and the miracles of modern medicine, he not only survived but thrived. He is now one of less than a dozen people to achieve an elite level of fitness after a blood cell transplant for acute leukemia and is considered officially medically cured.
“My ‘Inner Everest’ has dwarfed the outer one,” he says quietly, “I see life now from a new perspective. Success isn’t about height. It’s about depth.”
The story of Alan Hobson’s life is a breathtaking portrait in passion, persistence and peak performance spanning four decades. He is not only an Everest climber, summiteer and cancer survivor, but an international bestselling author and inspirational figure who has appeared on many national television talk shows, including Oprah. His expeditions have required millions of dollars to finance, organize and execute, and they have stretched Alan’s leadership, team-building, sales and communications skills even more than they have his physical self. Yet he has proven his ability to transform the apparently intangible benefits of high-stakes adventure into tangible results for his sponsors’ and suppliers’ bottom lines.
“Success is 97 percent preparation and three percent execution,” he says. “If you want to climb Everest, you must first raise a mountain of money. Then you must undertake the organizational Everest. Only after these two mountains are climbed can you begin with the business of preparing to climb the physical mountain.”
Alan’s achievements go far beyond his ascent of Everest and his miraculous climb back from cancer. He is the international bestselling author of half a dozen books, a former nine-time All-American gymnast, marathon runner, hang glider pilot, white water kayaker, cold water scuba diver, parachutist, journalist, and winner of the prestigious William Randolph Hearst Award for Excellence in News Writing. His latest passions include road and mountain biking in summer and extreme hiking in winter. He is a tough man for tough times – an expert at overcoming adversity, adapting to cataclysmic change, enduring hostile and life-threatening operating conditions and ultimately emerging triumphant.
Alan’s first expedition to Everest ended 3,000 feet short of the summit when a fierce storm ripped the team’s high camp off the mountain. Undaunted, he was back on Everest three years later with half the budget of the first trip, half the personnel, and no bottled oxygen. This time, his team missed the summit by an excruciatingly disappointing two city blocks when their lead climber came down with high altitude sickness and they chose to rescue him rather than continue blindly for the goal. They saved his life. Finally, on his third expedition, Alan changed his strategy completely, approached the mountain from its southern, Nepalese side, outsourced the organizational and leadership aspects of the climb, and focused entirely on training and fundraising. The plan worked. His team put six expedition members on the summit – almost half its climbers — a feat achieved by likely only a handful of teams in Everest’s storied 80-year climbing history.
Alan’s next expedition is the one he is currently on – to continue his miraculous climb back from cancer and help as many others as possible do the same. He has co-authored a landmark new book, Climb Back from Cancer – Introducing The 10 Tools of Triumph for Survivors and Caregivers. It chronicles the uplifting true story of his journey to and from the edge of life and death. It also pinpoints The 10 Tools of Triumph for survivors and caregivers — the key psychological skills needed to survive life-threatening illness and thrive beyond it. The book is the first in the proposed Climb Back from Cancer Collection.
Whenever possible, a portion of the annual revenues from Alan’s speaking presentations goes to The Climb Back from Cancer Foundation. Its mission is to take hope to new heights by giving cancer patients, survivors and caregivers the tools they need to climb back to better lives. The foundation is helping to spearhead a ground-breaking new medical study that is examining the effects of mild individualized aerobic activity (e.g. moderate jogging, swimming, biking, hiking, etc.) in enabling North America’s 11 million cancer survivors to overcome their #1 challenge – chronic fatigue. The result has been the pioneering Climb Back from Cancer Protocol, which Alan helped create with a team of leading investigators based on his own climb back. It has already helped survivors return their energy levels to normal and reduce the anxiety, anger and depression resulting from treatment by 65 percent. These results are unprecedented in the history of cancer recovery research for survivors of bone marrow and blood cell transplants. Phase II of the study, a three-year, $500,000 effort, is already underway. It is designed to test The Climb Back from Cancer Protocol against existing physical activity guidelines for survivors and perhaps establish the protocol as the new gold standard for climbing back from cancer.
“We not only need to save lives,” he says emphatically. “We need to return them.”
Alan’s pioneering philosophy permeates much of his life. In his speaking, he mesmerizes audiences with his personally-researched, custom-built presentations. His exhaustive five-step preparatory process results in every presentation being a one-of-a-kind program that has unparalleled organizational and individual impact and applicability. This extraordinary personal technique is unsurpassed by any other presenter and has earned him the distinction of being The Best Adventure Speaker in the World. He is the best in the world at linking his life adventures with those of his audiences.
Alan lives in his favorite playground, the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains in Canmore, Alberta, north of Montana. They provide him with priceless solitude, sanctuary and rejuvenation. He was born to help others see the world from a refreshing new perspective – one above the clouds of fear and doubt where hope, strength and courage emerge triumphantly from within each of us.
Quick Reference Card
Domestic Keynote Fee Range*:
Perfect for:
• Learn how to rise to the challenge of change, and profit from it
• Watch the exhaustive preparatory process Alan followed prior to each of his three Everest expeditions and learn how to apply the same tactics in your business
• See triumph in teamwork during Alan's three Everest expeditions and his climb back from critical illness - and how to apply the lessons to any organization or individual reaching for the top
• Learn how to achieve excellence in execution
• Learn how we can all emerge victorious if we mine the priceless knowledge from the depths of our experiences
*Speaker fees vary based on event location, program duration and other factors, and are subject to change without notice. Please contact us for an accurate fee quote for your event.
