In May 2006, three years after she had summitted Everest via the North Ridge, Sue Fear died on Manaslu when descending from its peak. Manaslu was the fifth 8,000 metre peak that she had climbed, a feat only a handful of women have achieved.

Although I had first met Sue over 20 years earlier, I came to know her well when I wrote her book in 2004. Much of Fear No Boundary is about Sue's climb of Everest, and her detailed descriptions were largely responsible for the rekindling of my desire to reach Everest's summit.

Sue died only a few days after I stood on the world's highest point, so we never had the chance to share big hugs of congratulation or swap mountain story for mountain story over a few beers. The only consolation I can find is that we managed to complete the book that she had been postponing for almost a year, so that everyone can still enjoy her stories and take inspiration from her life.