In August 2000, Mt. Everest climber, summiteer, and prolific author, Alan Hobson, was diagnosed with leukemia (cancer of the blood) and given less than a year to live. Using the courage and tenacity that saw him through three grueling Everest expeditions, the miracles of modern medicine, and the love and support of his then fiancée, Cecilia, his family and friends, he set out on the ultimate adventure. He has since made a complete and miraculous recovery and is back exercising strenuously, hiking, biking, swimming, jogging and inspiring audiences at very turn. His powerful presentations about life, death, tenacity and triumph help thousands every year scale their own "Inner Everests."
Alan is no stranger to adversity, or to high performance. A former nine-time "All-American" gymnast (even though he is a born and raised Canadian), winner of the William Randolph Hearst Award for Excellence in News Writing, and the author of five books on adventure and achievement, he made Canadian communications history in 1991 with friend Jamie Clarke by putting the first live Canadian telephone reports off Everest via satellite. In his lifetime, Alan has been a marathon runner, hang glider pilot, white water kayaker, white water rafter, ice climber, rock climber, parachutist, luge and bobsleigh participant. His latest passions are mountain biking and scuba diving. He has dived beneath the ice of frozen mountain lakes in the dead of the Canadian winter, visited sunken wrecks in Lake Geneva, and executed numerous night dives in the frigid and turbulent waters of the north Atlantic.
Alan is a full-time professional speaker/adventurer who makes scores of presentations annually worldwide. His programs include breathtaking color photographs, and riveting sound and video recordings made high on Everest, and powerful messages that leave audiences speechless. Each program is personalized to the group using research and interviews Alan conducts himself and is renowned for its relevance and applicability to the everyday. His long list of repeat clients and expedition sponsors includes some of the world’s biggest and most successful organizations, many of them Fortune 100 and 500 companies. His latest mission is to inspire millions of other cancer survivors to return to life with renewed vigor, vitality and meaning. To this end, Cecilia (now his wife) and he are co-authoring a new book entitled, To the Edge and Back – An Inspirational Climb Back from Cancer. It is to provide a unique and inspirational perspective on the life of a patient and caregiver. The couple is also helping to spearhead a pioneering study about the effects of cardiovascular exercise in combating chronic fatigue. Their life dream is to establish an Institute of Inspiration in the Canadian Rockies where cancer survivors can rebuild themselves after treatment and rediscover the passion and purpose of their precious lives. They have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
"Our life mission is to create a legacy of inspiration that will empower others to go after their dreams and in so doing, touch the boundlessness of their true potential," he says.
Alan is passionate, focused, energetic and warm. He and Cecilia recently moved from the city to the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains, their favorite playground, to rebuild themselves in the fresh mountain air, and to rediscover the freedom of the hills.
"Cancer has been the best thing that ever happened to me," the adventurer says proudly. "Now that I’ve been given a second chance at life, I have a whole new chance to positively affect many, many more people in a much deeper and more meaningful way."
So, it would seem, a whole new adventure has begun...one bigger perhaps even than Everest.
