Heidi Zimmer

{{short description|American deaf mountaineer (born c. 2013)}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Heidi Zimmer

|birth_name = Heidi Zimmer

|birth_date =

|birth_place = Southern California, United States{{cite book|last1=Putz|first1=Karen|title=The passionate lives of deaf and hard of hearing people|date=2013|publisher=Barefoot Publications|location=Chicago, Ill.|isbn=978-1-4904-6520-3}}

}}

Heidi Zimmer is an American deaf mountaineer who has accomplished several notable firsts in mountaineering.{{cite book |url=http://www.classzone.com/books/algebra_1/page_build.cfm?content=links_app2_ch1&ch=1 |title=Welcome to Algebra 1 |chapter=Chapter 1 : Connections to Algebra : Heidi Zimmer |work=Classzone.com |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing |access-date=2011-08-09}} She was born deaf, and became the first deaf woman in history to reach the top of Mount McKinley on June 13, 1991.{{cite web|url=http://www.heidizimmer.com/dendi.php |title=Denali (Mt. McKinley) |publisher=HeidiZimmer.com |date=1991-06-13 |access-date=2011-08-09}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehccrusader.com/2.11609/deaf-mountaineer-heidi-zimmer-lectures-on-seven-summits-1.1564524 |title=Deaf mountaineer Heidi Zimmer lectures on 'Seven Summits' |first=Dan |last=Kittredge |date=April 26, 2004 |work=The Crusader |publisher=College of the Holy Cross |access-date=2011-08-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320153515/http://www.thehccrusader.com/2.11609/deaf-mountaineer-heidi-zimmer-lectures-on-seven-summits-1.1564524 |archive-date=March 20, 2012 }}{{cite news |publisher=Associated Press |date=July 13, 2002 |title=Arts festival, conferences, exhibits on the deaf draw 9,500 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F86D36D17E3D194&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D}}{{subscription required}} At the top, she unfolded a banner reading "DEAF WOMAN, A PARADE THROUGH THE DECADES". On August 15, 1992, Zimmer became the first deaf person to summit Mount Elbrus.{{cite web|url=http://www.heidizimmer.com/mtelbrus.php |title=Mt. Elbrus |publisher=HeidiZimmer.com |date=1992-08-15 |access-date=2011-08-09}} On September 22, 1994, Zimmer became the first deaf woman to summit Kilimanjaro.{{cite web|url=http://www.heidizimmer.com/kilimanjaro2.php |title=Kilimanjaro |publisher=HeidiZimmer.com |date=1994-09-22 |access-date=2011-08-09}} She has also won a bronze medal in the Deaf Olympics. She graduated from Gallaudet University in 1978.

In 1996, Zimmer was diagnosed with Usher's syndrome.{{cite web|url=http://www.heidizimmer.com/seabeck_stroll.htm |title=Seabeck Deaf-Blind Retreat |publisher=Heidizimmer.com |access-date=2011-08-09}}

She hopes to climb all the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of each of the seven continents.