Jim Davidson

Jim Davidson is a resilience expert who has survived not just one epic mountain disaster, but two. From his real-world survival experiences, he distills hard-won lessons about forging the resilience to overcome change, challenge, and uncertainty.

While climbing Mount Everest, Davidson and his team survived massive earthquakes and avalanches on what became the mountain’s deadliest day ever. Davidson later returned to Everest and summited successfully. His riveting survival stories have been featured in documentaries for National Geographic, Smithsonian Channel, Netflix, and Discovery’s hit show, “I Shouldn't Be Alive". Davidson has been featured on NPR, CBS, CNN, and hundreds of other media outlets.

From his 42 years of adventures, Davidson shares compelling stories and practical tips about how to persevere and how to endure uncertain times through resilience strategies and post-traumatic growth. Davidson provides motivating keynotes and interactive workshops on resilience, teamwork, leadership, and change management. His energizing messages have been shared in-person and virtually with audiences in more than 35 countries.

Davidson has scaled high peaks from Argentina to Nepal, and from Bolivia to Tibet. While leading expedition teams around the globe, Davidson has guided his teammates through storms and setbacks to reach lofty summits. The U.S. National Park Service has commended Davidson twice for volunteering on successful high-altitude rescues in Colorado and Alaska.

His latest book, The Next Everest, was published in six international editions and was selected as an Amazon Editor’s Pick. Davidson’s survival memoir, The Ledge, was a New York Times bestseller. He worked for twenty years as a hydrogeologist and managed his own environmental consulting firm. In his youth, Davidson worked for his father painting high-voltage electrical towers carrying 230,000 volts.