Survive ... and Thrive

The story of those who died – and those who survived – on the world’s most savage mountain, K2. Because surviving is the name of the game.

Peter Hillary was the only survivor of a group of eight climbers heading for the summit of K2 in 1995. To the other seven climbers the conditions seemed fine for a summit bid. But not for Peter. His intuition made him question going on. It was a combination of not liking the look of a bank of cloud, and something less tangible; a feeling of unease and disquiet at ascending the final slopes to the summit. The words of his father, Sir Edmund Hillary, rang in his ears: “Never be afraid to stand alone.” Peter listened to his intuition and started back down the mountain. His climbing partners were calling out to “come on up!” For a short time he wondered if he would regret his decision, if his friends were to come down in triumph from successfully reaching the summit. But after a night of terror battling a ferocious storm, Peter Hillary was the only one of the group to come off the mountain alive.

In this presentation, Peter tells the gripping and often painful story of losing his colleagues, and explores how he came to make the right decision on the day.

Themes
• The secrets of surviving against the odds
• Listening to your inner wisdom
• True success is surviving to make another attempt
• Balancing risk with caution
• Judging the situation for yourself
• Becoming truly self-reliant
• Learning from your mistakes
• Life is the story of your challenges and what you learned from them.

Photograph by Peter Jordan Photography

Benefits
It doesn’t matter whether you are surviving a storm on a mountain or getting your team safely through a crisis; if you survive, you live to play another day and you will be all the stronger for the experience. This is a very powerful story that will leave your audience breathless. They will be inspired by the vital importance of sound judgement, trusting your intuition, surviving the worst…. and ultimately thriving.

Audience
Recommended as a daytime address when a powerful story is required to grab the attention of the audience. Suitable for small to large groups.

Audio visual support
VHS video tape and/or 35mm slides can be used to illustrate this presentation.