Michael Groom
Professional Mountaineer & Speaker
One of Australia’s most accomplished high-altitude mountaineers and an inspiring keynote speaker on resilience and performance under pressure. After losing a third of both feet to frostbite on Kangchenjunga, he defied medical predictions to climb again—eventually summiting Everest, K2, and three other of the world’s toughest peaks. A survivor of the 1996 Everest disaster, Michael now shares powerful lessons in leadership, teamwork, and overcoming extreme adversity.
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Michael Groom is one of Australia’s most accomplished high-altitude mountaineers and an inspiring keynote speaker on resilience, leadership, and performance under pressure.
In 1987, he became the first Australian to climb Kangchenjunga—the world’s third-highest mountain—without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support. During the descent, he was temporarily blinded, forced to bivouac above 8,000 metres, and suffered severe frostbite that led to the amputation of a third of both feet. Doctors told him he would never walk again.
Three years later, he proved them wrong by climbing Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest peak. In 1996, he survived the tragic Everest expedition chronicled in Into Thin Air. He later became the first Australian to summit five of the world’s most formidable mountains: Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu.
Author of the bestselling memoir Sheer Will and subject of the documentary of the same name, Michael now brings extraordinary real-world lessons in courage, adaptability, teamwork, and determination to audiences around the globe.
