Michael Groom
Professional Mountaineer & Speaker
From surviving life-threatening frostbite to conquering the world’s most challenging peaks, Michael Groom turns extreme adversity into lessons in courage, resilience, and sheer willpower.
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Michael Groom is a professional mountaineer and speaker whose extraordinary feats of endurance, resilience, and courage inspire audiences worldwide. 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, Michael was temporarily blinded and forced to spend the night exposed to the elements above 8,000 metres, suffering severe frostbite that led to the amputation of a third of both his feet. Doctors told him he would never walk again.
Defying the odds, Michael applied sheer will and determination to relearn how to walk, and just three years later successfully climbed Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth highest mountain. In 1996, he joined Rob Hall’s ill-fated Everest expedition, in which eight climbers lost their lives. Of those who summited, only Michael and Into Thin Air author Jon Krakauer survived.
Michael went on to become the first Australian to summit the world’s five most challenging peaks: Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu. His remarkable story was captured in the documentary Sheer Will by the Australian Film Corporation in 2000. He is also the author of the gripping memoir Sheer Will, published in 1997 and updated in 1999 and 2000, which chronicles his extraordinary journey of survival, resilience, and achievement.
Today, Michael Groom shares his experiences as a keynote speaker, inspiring audiences with lessons in courage, perseverance, and the power of the human spirit to overcome extreme challenges.
