Mountaineer and geologist Greg Mortimer will be guest speaker at one of Blue Mountains Grammar School’s 100 year anniversary events at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 17.
Mr Mortimer is most well-known as one of the first two Australians to successfully climb Mount Everest without oxygen as well as one the first Australians to climb K2, Annapurna II and Antarctica's highest peak, Vinson Massif.
He has received the Order of Australia Medal for mountaineering and is also the recipient of three Australian Geographic Society medals. Mr Mortimer has made numerous trips to Antarctica, with his company Aurora Expeditions, is a local resident and a regular visitor to the Blue Mountains National Park.
Mr Mortimer’s talk is part of an autumn festival, which includes outdoor activities, sporting events, art show, access to the school grounds and an adventure and student short film evening.
Admission to the events is free and members of the public are invited to visit the school from 11am-2pm. The evening event starts at 7.30pm on the senior school’s main lawn with the main gates (via Matcham Avenue, Wentworth Falls) open at 6pm. In the event of wet weather the picnic and presentation will be moved inside the school’s sports centre. Snacks will be available for purchase throughout the evening.
There will be an opportunity to make a plastic note donation at the festival to support the Australian Himalayan Foundation, a charity working in partnership with the people of the remote Himalaya to improve living standards through better education and training, improved health services and environmental sustainability.