In remote Polar and wilderness areas, guides are critical to the enjoyment and success of your expedition cruise. You can be sure to travel with some of the world’s most accomplished and acclaimed experts during Fathom Expeditions' custom journeys. A few of our guides are below.
Capt. Bob Wallace - Antarctic Historian, Master Boat Builder and actor ("Shackleton")
Bob Wallace is an Antarctic ice-ship captain, master boat craftsman and plays the character Shackleton in the film Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure. Bob is a salt of the sea. He’s taken his vessel, the Able-J, down to Antarctica over a dozen times to explore the Peninsula Region. Bob is a superb story-teller with a tremendous knowledge of the Endurance Expedition.Bob is a member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Explorer's Club and has spent over 5 months investigating the coastline of South Georgia Island.
Dr. Deirdre Galbraith, M.D. - Expedition Doctor and Guide
Dr. Deirdre Galbraith has exceptional experience in remote world medical care. She has worked in hospitals in Scotland and Australia, on expeditions to Antarctica and South Georgia, and at the Mount Everest Base Camp. She has guided general travelers, Everest climbers and student groups to the far reaches of the planet.
Deirdre has a strong passion for sub-antarctic botany with a collection of plants in the Dundee Botanical Gardens in Scotland.
David German - Founder and Expedition Leader
David German is founder and managing director of Fathom Expeditions Inc.
He leads the Fathom Expeditions' guide teams, he is a CANON professional photographer and takes a person hand in designing every itinerary.
His extensive knowledge of Antarctica and the entire European and North American Arctics extends over 16 years and 75 small ship expeditions Pole to Pole. He maintains an intimate knowledge of the global small ship fleet with a focus on ice-rated and polar vessels. He has personally led trips to both ends of the earth on numerous ice-vessels varying in size from 12-200 passengers.
David and his design team customize every itinerary and program for all Fathom cruises. He has led and designed ship charters, logistics and cruise programs for the following entities:
- Disney Motion Pictures
- WGBH/ NOVA Productions
- SONY Pictures
- Wolfgang Petersen
- IMAX Productions
- Reinhold Messner
- Stephen Venables
- Robert Bateman
- George Butler
- Adventure Network International
- Grand Expeditions
- White Mountain Films
- Geographic Expeditions
- Mountain Travel Sobek
- Polartec
In 1998, David managed and led the first unsupported commercial overland of South Georgia Island, an expedition inspired by the deeds of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
That same year he founded the Explorer Project - an Antarctic Education Program to promote conservation and awareness of the Antarctic and surrounding regions.
David was the Expedition Leader for the Antarctic IMAX film expeditions detailing Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure. The success of the expeditions can be seen in IMAX theaters across the North America and Europe.
Over the last decade, German has led over 50 Antarctic and High Arctic voyages with general travellers, naturalists, photographers, historians, hikers, explorers, scientists, climbers and artists.
His Spirit of Shackleton Antarctic voyage was voted the "Greatest Antarctic Trip in the World" by National Geographic.
His photos have been published in Conde Nast Traveller, National Geographic Adventure, Globe and Mail, New York and L.A. times among others.
German has designed and led ship-based itineraries to:
- Antarctica Peninsula
- South Georgia Island Sub-Antarctic
- Northwest Passage
- Falkland Islands
- Greenland
- Brazilian, Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazons
- Coastal South and Central America
- Svalbard, Spitsbergen
- Scottish West Coast
- Norway
- Iceland
- Galapagos
- Fjords of Chile
- North Pole
- South Pole
and other remote regions around the world.
David enjoys a little wind in his hair and sea spray on his face as he explores the great Nature and wildlife regions of the world. He collects historic Polar photography and charts.
His passion, and the passion of his special teams, make every Fathom journey a true "expedition" with lasting rewards, superb comforts and food and great friendships.
David speaks English, Spanish, French and Portuguese fluently. He is a graduate of Queen’s University at Kingston and he currently resides in his native city of Toronto, Canada. He is proud father to three little explorers.
Dave Hahn - Guest Lecturer and Guide
Dave Hahn is a mountain-climbing-guide, lecturer and journalist from Taos, New Mexico in the Southwestern United States.
Dave Hahn has also guided extensively in Antarctica, having reached its highest point, the Vinson Massif, a record 25 times. He has made a specialty of leading the “Shackleton Traverse” in the course of numerous expeditions by ship and boat to South Georgia and has been a regular field-guide and lecturer for Fathom Expeditions on trips to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Hahn works with climbers each year on Mt. Rainier and Mt. McKinley in North America, and is a professional ski patroller conducting on-slope rescues and avalanche control work near his home in the Southern Rocky Mountains. He writes for Outside Magazine and has contributed to several books and to many websites following his adventures through the years.
Elizabeth Schaefer - Assistant Expedition Leader
Elizabeth, raised in the US mid-west, set a goal for herself at 16 to "see the world" and she made it to the Last Continent in 1999 with Fathom Expeditions.She is an international guide and world traveler. She has been living out west for over 20 years where she is a certified guide taking groups up Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the "lower 48". She is an expert horse woman and breeder who has raised llamas and horses on her 200 acre ranch.
Elizabeth guides our Patagonia extensions and manages shipboard operations in Antarctica.
Norma and Maurice Joseph - Photography Guides
Norma and Maurice Joseph are Fellows of the Royal Geographic Society.
Their exhibits have graced the walls of Sotheby's, the British Museum and the Hamilton Gallery in London, among others. Aswell, works by the Joseph's taken on previous Fathom Expedition voyages can be seen in the 2005 Royal Geographic Society calendar.
They have photographed over 120 countries around the world.
Dr. David Munro - Director, Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Dr. David Munro is the world's leading authority on the Scotia Antarctic Expedition of 1902-04 and the exploits of pioneering scientist and explorer Sir William Bruce. He has led several research expeditions to the tropical forests of Central America.Dr. Munro is a Member of the Council of the National Trust for Scotland and he is a frequent contributor to a variety of expedition reports, magazines, newspapers and radio broadcasts.
Constantine von Flotow - James Caird Captain and Expedition Guide
Constantine has been guiding water based expeditions, including sailing, white water rafting, canoeing and kayaking, for the better part of 15 years. He captains' our replica of Shackleton's lifeboat, the James Caird, while in the Antarctic. His sailing experience includes Yacht and Dinghy racing in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Coastal Mexico, Australia, Fiji and the British Virgin Islands. His major ocean experience includes the return leg of the Sydney- Hobart Race, and Coastal Chartering in BVI and Pacific coastal Mexico.His travels have taken him all throughout Europe, South and Central America, Mexico, and North America. He has over 120 white water descents and hundreds of kilometres of wilderness exploration paddling. Constantine is fully trained in Wilderness First Aid, Advanced Swift Water Rescue techniques and Navigation.
Conrad Anker - Guest Lecturer and Guide
Conrad Anker is one of North America’s top explorers and a passionate Antarctic and Shackleton enthusiast. Inspired by Shackleton, he crossed South Georgia Island accompanied by Reinhold Messner and Stephen Venables in 2000.He has also pioneered explorations of Antarctica’s interior mountains (Queen Maud Land, National Geographic) and he is world-renown for his discovery of George Mallory’s body on Mount Everest thereby ending decades of debate on who was first to reach the summit.
Rob Reader - Polar Historian
Robert Reader is a larger-than-life veteran of over 65 Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. His six-foot-two frame, coupled with his enthusiastic story-telling expertise brings Antarctic history alive as we travel in the realm of the great explorers. Robert is intimately familiar with the heroic Age of Exploration and the pioneers who first ventured to the bottom and top of the world. He will cover the dramatic endeavours of the Endurance, Nordenskjold, Charcot, Scott, Bellinghausen and much more.Rob lectures on Antarctic glaciology and ocean systems, and his skills driving Zodiacs are unmatched.
Kris Erickson - Photography and Hiking Guide
Kris is an acclaimed Polar and Extreme Sports photographer who has ventured to the "Last Continent" half a dozen times. He has guided with Fathom Expeditions in Antarctica and South Georgia Island. Kris ran logistics for the South Pole marathon. He's a North Face athlete and a former EXUM mountain guide. Kris's photography has been featured in National Geographic, Outside Magazine, Patagonia, Saudi Aramco World and several of other to International outdoor publications.Kris's guiding and extreme skiing skills matched with his photography allow him to capture images from rare viewpoints and locations. His seminars and field outings enhance the trip experience for Fathom guests.
Kris recently satisfied a personal goal by being the first-ever American male to ski the world's 8th highest mountain, Cho Oyu. He currently resides in Livingston, Montana.
Graham Bell - Ornithologist and Lecturer
Graham is a well-known British ornithologist who is a specialist in bird identification. He frequently contributes articles and illustrations to many different publications and has been published not only in local newspapers but the Lonely Planet Nature Guide to the Arctic as well.Graham is a Guided Walks Leader for the Northumberland Coutryside Service in England and has traveled widely, studying, drawing and photographing birds on all seven continents.
Edwin C. Bowers IV (a.k.a. Bean) - Expedition Guide and Lecturer
It is with profound sadness and respect that we share news of the passing of our friend and guide, Bean Bowers, after his six-month battle with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bean’s wife, Helen, and his family. Friends and loved ones have teamed up to help the Bowers with the enormous financial burdens of cancer treatment by starting a website www.beanfever.com. The good-guy team lost a Captain here. We will miss you, Bean.Edwin has been instructing guides and mountain safety since 1995. Recently, he guided and coordinated logistics for Antarctica's first-ever South Pole marathon. He is an instructor with NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School, and at Prescott College, the US's leading guide training school. His ongoing work includes field positions with the Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, Alaska Mountaineering School and Patagonia Adventure Expeditions. Bean has led clients up Aconcagua, the highest peak in the western hemisphere at 23,000 feet. His mountain accomplishments include summits in Patagonia, Alaska, Colorado, Antarctica, British Columbia and Bolivia.
Edwin manages aspects of mountain safety during Fathom's walks and hikes allowing expeditioners to experience the magic of high point views across THE ICE.
Mark Holden-Hindley
Mark Holden-Hindley has ventured to Antarctica, South Georgia and the High Arctic by land and by sea since 1999. He guides and manages Zodiac operations and the Fathom team of boat drivers. Mark led two IMAX film team as they retraced the routes of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew across the Antarctic. Mark is also our marine safety officer, an expert on polar bears, gun safety and wilderness travel standards while on shore. Mark has snowboarded and skied in the French Alps and enjoyed logging first descents in never-before skied places such as South Georgia Island, Sub-Antarctica. Mark is founder of Cap Ferrat Watersports hosting world-class athletes for a range of sports and competitions. Vincent Cattaneo
Vincent is a director, camerman and editor with Fidelis Films' Nature Unit since 2004. He is a regular professional cinematographer on Fathom Expeditions' voyages. He has no fear of the extreme environs and Vincent has shot footage of polar bears, narwhal - unicorn of the Arctic, penguins, elephant seals and all major polar marine mammals. From the peaks of the Antarctic to the shores of the Northwest Passage, Vincent is the go-to person for supreme wildlife and adventure footage. Vincent has shot in a range of locations with Fathom Expeditions including Greenland, Northwest Passage Canada, South Georgia Island and the Falkland Islands (Sub-Antarctica) and Antarctica. Vincent is presently editing a feature film in Ville France. It is due for release in December. Dr. James Fenton
James is an author and an experienced Scottish and Polar lecturer and naturalist. He has also spent much time at sea, lecturing and touring to both ends of the earth. He is particularly knowledgeable about the natural history of the UK and its islands, the Arctic, Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands. As a general purpose ecologist, with a botanical leaning, he also has direct experience of many other parts of the world (e.g. Europe, South America, South Africa, Galapagos, Maldives). James has worked for The National Trust of Scotland, The British Antarctic Survey and Scottish National Heritage. James lends his vast experience and skills to Fathom Expeditions Pure Hebrides trip which explores the history, scenery, nature and culture of this amazing archipelago. His knowledge of the intricate gardens, isolated wilderness areas, wildlife and customs is unparalleled for this outlying region. He is the author of "A Field Guide to Ice". 
