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Based in Christchurch New Zealand, Colin Monteath is a freelance photographer,
writer and mountaineer who is widely travelled in the polar and high mountain
regions of the world. In 1984 he started Hedgehog House photographic library
and publishing company with the principal aim of " increasing the awareness
of the need to look after the polar and mountain regions."
With nearly 100 wide-ranging assignments to Antarctica spanning 26 seasons since 1973
Colin has seen more of the Seventh Continent than almost any other New Zealander.
For ten seasons ( 1973-83) he operated out of New Zealand's Scott Base
as the Field Operations Officer helping to co-ordinate the logistic support
for 
New Zealand's science programme. At that time he was also in charge of New
Zealand's huskies and the training of the dog handlers. With survival
and rescue team training under his control, Colin helped co-ordinate the
recovery operation following the 1979 DC-10 crash near Mt Erebus. Colin
acted as a guide for HRH Prince Edward during his Antarctic tour in 1982.
On one of this three international science expeditions to the summit of
the active volcano Erebus Colin made the first descent into the inner
crater. He has also been involved in numerous new routes and first ascents
on Antarctic peaks and was the first New Zealander to reach the highest
peak in Antarctica, Vinson Massif.
Since 1983 Colin has worked as an expedition leader, lecturer and guide for various
polar cruise and adventure companies including, in recent years, Quark
Expeditions, Aurora Expeditions and Adventure Network International. In
1991 Colin was on board a Soviet nuclear powered icebreaker which made
the first-ever surface vessel traverse of the Arctic Ocean via the North
Pole as well as a transit of the NE Passage in Siberia. In 1993 he joined
an international team which skied and dog sledged across the Greenland
icecap.
Colin has been an active mountaineer for 30 years. He has climbed New Zealand's
highest peak 13 times by most of its routes including the notorious Caroline
face and the first winter ascent of the East Ridge. In 1974 Colin was
a member of the Commonwealth Andean Expedition which made 19 new routes
in Peru's Cordillera Vilcanota.
Himalayan Expeditions have played a vital role in Colin's life - Australian Annapurna
III Expedition ( Nepal 1980) , New Zealand Garhwal Expedition (Shivling
- India 1982), Australian Everest Expedition (North Face - Tibet 1984),
New Zealand Pamirs Expedition (Pik Kommunizma USSR/Central Asia, 1986),
Australian Karakorum Expedition (first ascent Chongtar - Xingjiang China
1994) and New Zealand Tibet Expedition (Gurla Mandhata , 1998). In Irian
Jaya Colin worked as a guide for Adventure Consultants during a climb
of Carstensz Pyramid.
As well as working throughout New Zealand, Colin has undertaken numerous photographic
and magazine assignments over the years to places such as Patagonia, Greenland,
Antarctica, Kenya, Siberia, Bhutan , Pakistan, Central Asia, Pakistan,
India , China , Nepal and New Guinea. His pictures and stories are in
demand worldwide and have appeared in such magazines as GEO (Germany),
national Geographic (USA), Australian Geographic (Australia), Terre Sauvage
(France ), The Geographical Magazine (UK), Conde Nast (UK, Spain etc.),
Rock and Ice (USA), Action Asia (Hong Kong ), Time (USA) and Mother Nature
(Japan).
Colin is regularly involved in book projects, contributing images and chapters
of text to guide books, trekking books and pictorial books on the polar
and mountain regions - e.g. Lonely Planet guide Antarctica. He was the
principal photographer for the highly-acclaimed Reader's Digest book Antarctica
- Great Stories from the Frozen Continent (Australia, 1985), co-author
of Smithsonian Institution Press's Wild Ice (USA, 1990) , author New Zealand
- Land of Wind ( White Star, Italy, 1996), author and photographer Antarctica
- Beyond the Southern Ocean (NZ 1996) and author and publisher Hall and
Ball - Kiwi Mountaineers (NZ 1997).
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