Her colleagues and friends at Present Tense Theatre, Nate Gilkes and Bryce Ives, wrote a heartfelt message on their Facebook page yesterday, saying how they had hoped to work with her again soon.
"Her instinct for theatre and design had the cut-through and mastery that most artists can only wish they might achieve ... her lighting designs were always sensational, particularly her inspired design of our three seasons of Chants Des Catacombes. She had an intimate and uniquely personal sense of how light and space informed story, character and experience.
"But Nicola was so much more than a lighting designer. She was an expert collaborator, an original thinker, and she was driven beyond words to live every day to the fullest. This was a task that she succeeded at in excess."
They also thanked her for helping them get their theatre company started.
"It's not widely known (or celebrated) that she was integral to starting our little company. She did so much of the original thinking to help get Present Tense off the ground. She chaired countless planning meetings, wrote grant applications and motivated us to get going and to think big. She drove trucks, climbed ladders and even sang nightly in Catacombes!
"We wanted to work with Nicola again, and soon. We talked about it regularly. But we also understood that with her talent and drive there were so many other things for Nicola to do in the world. From science to art, medicine to big ideas, climbing mountains to design; Nicola was maverick and brilliant.
"How many people do you know who have a Bachelor of Bioengineering Systems and Biochemistry along with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production Lighting.) She was even on her way to completing a Masters of Engineering! She was bloody ace, lovely to be with, she worked hard and always went above and beyond."
Josh Lowe, of Tasmanian youth dance company Drill, also paid tribute to Miss Andrews.
"It is so rare to find someone so talented, dedicated and generous, but we all found it in Nicola. Thank you for your beautiful work and for the beautiful memories you have left with all of us."
Canterbury police Inspector Dave Gaskin said her death has been referred to the coroner and said investigations into what caused the "tragic accident" were continuing.
"Nicola was with a group of three equally experienced and equipped climbers on the Footstool before she fell around 300m on to the Eugenie Glacier. She was very seriously injured but still alive when members of her party set off a personal locator beacon," he said.
"The fact that the climbers were able to call for help by setting off a beacon enabled emergency services to reach Nicola relatively quickly and gave her the best possible chance of survival. The climbing party have been working with police to piece together the events which led to the tragic fall."
Mr Gaskin said the margin for error in the mountains was small.
"At this stage, it would appear that Nicola and her climbing partners did everything they could to minimise risks. They will be asking themselves 'what if' and trying to understand how this tragic accident could have happened. Unfortunately, given the volatile terrain, sometimes there is no explanation."
