Wickwire made four (unsuccessful) attempts on the north side of Mount Everest, in: 1982, 1984, 1993, and 2003. During the 1982 expedition, Wickwire formed a relationship with female climber, Marty Hoey. While ascending Everest, one day Wickwire and Hoey were taking a brief rest on a slope within a steep and icy couloir at . When the two climbers above needed more rope Hoey got up to allow Wickwire to move into position to ascend. As she did so, something went wrong. As Wickwire explains: