Deaf Female Mountaineer to Lecture at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – Heidi Zimmer, a deaf, female mountaineer and adventurer will give a lecture at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 15 in Suites B & C of the Hogan Campus Center at Holy Cross. Her lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with English voice interpretation. Refreshments will be served.

After being diagnosed with Usher’s Syndrome, a visual disorder, Zimmer, an avid mountain climber, challenged herself to complete the “Seven Summits,” by climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. Since setting her goal, she has become the first deaf woman to reach the top of Denali (Mt. McKinley in Alaska) and the first deaf person to reach the tops of both Mt. Elbrus (in the Republic of Russia) and Kilimanjaro (in Africa). Zimmer has four more mountains to go — (Mt Vinson in Antarctica; Aconcagua in South America; Carstensz Pyramid in Iran Jaya; and Mt. Everest in Nepal).

In addition to her latest mountain climbing endeavors, she participated in the 2000 “Girls on the Move,” event, created by Outward Bound. The program combined a cross-country bicycle expedition with community education celebrating and empowering women.

Her lecture is cosponsored by the Holy Cross Campus Activities Board (CAB), the Deaf Studies Program, the Student Government Association (SGA), Women’s Studies, the Women’s Forum and the ASL Club.