The Sweeney Agency

About Paul Deegan - Explorer and Environmental Pioneer:

Taking audiences from Everest’s Into Thin Air tragedy and high altitude trash collection to a stunning mountain range where no-one had gone before, British explorer and environmental pioneer Paul Deegan challenges us to become invisible leaders and make friends with failure.

After proposing and co-leading the original Everest clean-up expedition when he was 18 years old, Paul Deegan turned his back on a promising career in refuse collection and instead made two unsuccessful attempts to climb the world’s highest mountain. One of these expeditions took place during the worst disaster in Everest’s history. Rocked by the deaths of eleven climbers, Paul vowed never to go back to the mountain. But several years later, a chance encounter with a legendary mountaineer impelled Paul to break his promise. He returned to Everest a few months before his nuptials in a final attempt to reach the top of the world.

Paul’s multifarious adventures have included a journey along an iced-over Himalayan river in a gorge deeper than the Grand Canyon, a voyage to the rarely-visited Nicobar Islands, and a stint at a scientific research station on the frozen Arctic Ocean. On the eve of the 21st century Paul led an expedition to a range of virgin peaks described by the BBC as “One of the world’s last unexplored ranges”. More people have stood on the moon than on the mountains that Paul’s team scaled.

Dozens of publications ranging from The Times of London to Geographical (the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society) have published hundreds of Paul’s expedition, travel and environmental stories. His first book, The Mountain Traveller’s Handbook, received an award at the National Outdoor Book Awards. Paul is also a contributor to several other books, including the Royal Geographical Society’s Expedition Handbook, Lonely Planet’s Trekking In The Indian Himalaya, Cadogan Guides' Bugs, Bites & Bowels, and the AA’s Extreme Places.

What Paul Deegan Talks About:

Overcoming Disaster: Drivers of Individual Determination on the Roof of the World
The ‘Into Thin Air’ storm claimed the lives of 11 climbers and was the worst catastrophe in the history of Everest. Paul Deegan, who was on the mountain when the storm struck, vowed never to return. Yet eight years later Paul broke his promise and made a final attempt to reach the top of the world. Why did Paul go back? How did he overcome extreme self-doubt about his chance of survival? And after such a long hiatus, would he be able to fulfill his lifetime ambition? During this presentation Paul reveals a trick of the mind to reduce the fear of failure. He describes how a rocking chair can help you make your next big decision. And he explains why the best way to achieve an ambition is to forget about it.

Into The Unknown: Leading Your Team in an Uncertain World
At the turn of this century, most people thought there was nowhere left on Earth to discover. Then Paul Deegan organised an expedition to an unexplored range of mountains. Members of his team made ascents of previously unclimbed peaks, saw snow leopards and camels, and encountered nomadic communities who had never met people from outside the former Soviet Union. To prepare for this groundbreaking enterprise, Paul drew on his experiences as a leader and team member on expeditions to Alaska, the European Alps and the Himalaya. In this presentation, Paul explains why he ensures that every member of his team is more talented than he is, illustrates his philosophy of invisible leadership, and describes why there can be no room for passengers on any team.