Top Australian climber Sue Fear feared dead on Mountain
Tragedy has again struck the Australian climbing fraternity with top female climber Sue Fear plummeting to her death in the Himalayas.
The 43-year-old was climbing down Nepal’s 8156 metre Mount Manaslu – the world’s eighth highest peak – when she, along with Nepali Bishnu Gurung, fell into a crevasse.
The pair had reached the summit of Mount Manaslu the previous day. It was the fifth 8000 metre peak Fear had conquered. Gurung was eventually able to climb out and alert rescuers at base camp.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said this afternoon that while it was aware of reports saying Fear had died, it was not confirming her death.
She was good friends with countryman Lincoln Hall, who was presumed dead just days ago after suffering from celebral oedema on Mount Everest.
Sue Fear set off last month on her ascent of Mt Manaslu. Climbing with Nepali Bishnu Gurung via the standard north-east route, Sue was sharing a permit with four others: an Austrian, and a small Japanese party which includes Junko Tabei, the first women to climb Mt Everest, in 1975.
In May 2003, Sue became the first Australian women to climb Everest from the north side. Sue has led an impressive number of treks and climbs in the Himalaya and in South America over the last decade. Sue was the first Australian woman to climb Cho Oyu (8135m) in 1998 and in 2002 she added Shishapangma (8046m) to her impressive climbing cv.
She was also Australian Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year in 2003.
A rescue team is now attempting to retrieve her body.