Sue Fear

Australian mountain climber (1963–2006)

Susan Erica Fear (18 March 1963 – 28 May 2006) was an Australian mountaineer, supporter of the Fred Hollows Foundation and a 2005 recipient of the Order of Australia Medal. Her life and climbing career is illustrated in her biography Fear No Boundary: The Road to Everest and Beyond, written by fellow climber Lincoln Hall and Fear, published in 2005.

Fear was born on 18 March 1963 in St Ives, New South Wales, Australia, she was the middle child in her family, with two brothers Grahame and John. Her parents were Ron and Joan Fear. Her mother Joan died from breast cancer in May 1988, and her father Ron died unexpectedly of a heart attack in June 2002. Sue was recently (2019) honoured when Barker College, extending their number of 'Houses' to cater for the influx of many more girls in Years 7 9, named one house after her (Fear House). After leaving school after Year 12 in 1980 Fear took an office job with Wilderness Expeditions, an adventure travel company founded by Tim Macartney Snape. That company was later acquired by World Expeditions, and she moved out of the office and into the field. She became an adventure guide and led cross country ski trips in Australia as well as treks in Africa, South America, and Asia. She was recognised as one of the company's senior guides, leading many physically challenging mountaineering expeditions.

Fear was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2005 for her work as Ambassador for The Fred Hollows Foundation and for services to mountaineering, which will have an eye clinic named after her in Dhading Besi, Nepal. Fear was also named the 2003 Adventurer of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society. She was an ambassador for the Australian Himalayan Foundation and also helped raise funds for the Australian Nepalese Medical Group.

Fear's life and climbing career is written about in the biographical book Fear No Boundary: The Road to Everest and Beyond, written by fellow climber Lincoln Hall (with Sue Fear), and first published in Melbourne by Lothian Books in 2005.