Bonita Norris

At just 20 years old, Bonita Norris set her sights on the summit of Mount Everest, despite never having climbed a mountain before. In the process of getting to Everest, she climbed the world's 8th highest mountain in the Himalayas, Mount Manaslu, becoming one of the youngest people ever to climb it.

The following year, she secured nearly £50,000 in corporate sponsorship after cold calling countless British businesses and was able to fulfil her dream of reaching the summit of Everest. Upon successfully completing the expedition, Bonita set a record as the Youngest British Woman to reach the top of the world.

The following year, Bonita skied to the North Pole, finishing the expedition aged 23, she became the youngest person ever to reach both "tops of the world: the summit of Everest and the North Pole."

Not content with her performance on Everest (she fell on the descent), Bonita set herself the challenge of climbing another 8000m peak - the formidable Mt Lhotse, the world's 4th highest mountain. Lhotse is a much more committing and dangerous climb than Everest and it took Bonita another year to train for the mountain, in doing so, she climbed Ama Dablam, a peak in the Himalayas often described as the world's most beautiful mountain.

Finally, Bonita reached the summit of Mt Lhotse at the age of 24, becoming only the third British woman in history to climb it. From there, she has also attempted K2 in Pakistan and guided multiple teams to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, the world's highest freestanding mountain.

Bonita began speaking about her experiences in the mountains in schools but quickly found herself invited to speak on stages all over the world.

As a speaker, Bonita equips audiences with the mindset to thrive in uncertain, constantly changing and highly pressurised environments- together as one team. She speaks about the importance of differentiating between what is within and not within our control, and taking action accordingly.

Her keynotes are packed with memorable mindset tools that can be implemented straight away and used for life- boosting her audience’s confidence and giving them the inner belief that they can tackle whatever challenges they face.

In 2024 she became an award winning motivational speaker, winning ‘Best Speaker Storyteller’ at the Speaker Awards in London.

Bonita is also the bestselling author of her memoir, The Girl Who Climbed Everest, which reached the top of the mountaineering/adventure chart in 2022.

In 2026, Bonita is planning to climb the world’s sixth highest mountain without supplementary oxygen.

Mountains of the Mind: One Goal, One Team

What does it take to go beyond your limits? To have an impossible dream and turn it into a reality?

For beginner climber Bonita Norris it was to reach the summit of Everest, but as she came to learn, the biggest challenge wasn’t Everest itself.

In this keynote motivational talk, Bonita tells of how she woke up one morning and decided to climb Mt Everest, despite no prior experience. Failure seemed inevitable, and there was so much uncertainty ahead, but Bonita had a clear vision and showed up for her goal.

In doing so, she taught herself how to climb, found a team and became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of the world’s 8th highest peak in the Himalayas.

Data over Dogma: The First Ascent of Everest

In this keynote talk, Bonita explores how data was the untold secret to the first ascent of Everest in 1953, after 30 years of failed attempts on the world's highest peak.

This inspiring keynote tells of the unsung hero of Everest, Dr Griffith Pugh, who unlocked the mystery of how to get the two climbers to the top and back down again alive, using data.

Today, we are grasping to understand how the data and AI revolution will transform our lives. Within this uncertainty there is a reluctance to change, and a fear of leaving old ways behind. We wouldn't be alone in feeling this way: 70 years ago the pioneers of Everest were grappling with much the same- their belief system, so closely held onto, was actually holding them back from realising their goal.

In this talk, Bonita explores how a reluctance to change stifled the British from the first ascent of Everest for nearly 30 years, until an outsider to the climbing community became the disruptor they didn't want- but desperately needed.

This keynote reframes the story of the first ascent of Everest as a triumph not of man over mountain but of data over dogmatic thinking. 

It explores three key themes:

1. Reluctance to change holds us back from progress, becoming the biggest obstacle (bigger than Everest itself). We can all fall victim to being change haters.
2. Disruption often comes from outsiders
3. It is still humans that must drive success by harnessing data and AI- as any mountaineer knows.

In the Death Zone: Utilising Failure for Greater Success

Are success and failure at odds with one another, or are they inextricably linked? Are excellent teams the ones that don’t make mistakes, or are they the ones that accept mistakes will and do happen?

How can we ensure that workplace culture encourages not the making of mistakes but the effective techniques to learn quickly from them, so that they can be avoided in future?

In this keynote talk, Bonita will share her story of going from the top of the world to rock bottom, and then back to the top again. Your team will learn how failure can inspire, educate and strengthen bonds in ways success cannot.

Bonita’s presentations focus on the theme of ‘success by smallness’ and the mindset you need when the challenge ahead feels impossible. Bonita speaks internationally for the world’s largest corporations, including Microsoft and Google, and adapts her story for after dinner events, award ceremonies, conferences and team meetings.

The lessons in Bonita’s talks of ‘success by smallness’, ‘focus not fret’ and ‘mountains of the mind’ are applicable to businesses and individuals struggling with seemingly insurmountable challenges ahead.

Bonita’s speech topics include:
• High performance mindset
• Learning from failure
• Marginal gains
• Teamwork
• Resilience
• Goal setting
• Mental health

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Bonita Norris. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.