Our guides
We know that one of the other keys to a successful expedition is having knowledgeable and enthusiastic leaders. These are the guides that take you to some of the most remote corners of the world! Some of them have more than 20 years experience of the Polar Regions.
-
Adam Rheborg
Guide & Expedition LeaderAdam has been guiding adventurous tourists like yourselves amongst polar bears and walruses in Svalbard since 1998. He works full time as expedition leader, dive master, television reporter, journalist and lecturer with the whole planet as his work place.
Read more -
Adrian Nordenborg
GuideAdrian has spent most of his life adventuring in over 100 countries around the world. As expedition leader and guide, he has done almost everything – from leading treasure hunting in Morocco and skiing in Iran to walks in Turkey to kayaking outside Manhattan. Adrian has a great love for nature and wildlife.
Read more -
Andreas Bergström
Guide & Expedition LeaderAndreas has studied biology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science. In 2003 he started working as a guide and has been guiding ever since. He has also been working on different research projects and research stations, from gerbills in the Kalahari desert to green sea turtles in Costa Rica.
Read more -
Annette Bombosch
GuideGerman biologist Annette has swapped a job behind the computer for an office with a view since 2014 and has been working on various expedition cruises to the Arctic as well as the Antarctic. Up North, Annette has guided in Svalbard, Greenland and Franz Josef Land. She has stood at the North Pole nine times.
Read more -
Annette Scheepstra
GuideAnnette's background is in social science, but she has a broad knowledge in polar biology and history. She has devoted her life to the polar regions and since 2011, she combines her work as a teacher at the Arctic Centre at the university of Groningen with guiding on Arctic expedition cruises.
Read more -
Beau Pruneau
Guide and Expedition LeaderGrowing up in a log house in the Canadian wilderness in Northern Ontario, Beau understood at an early age to appreciate the great outdoors while learning wilderness skills such as survival, navigation, tracking, and firearms marksmanship. He is happiest out on deck searching for polar bears.
Read more -
Boris Wise
GuideBoris is a passionate naturalist, a wilderness guide and an accomplished photographer. He started off his career guiding in Southeast Alaska for 10 years before going on his first expedition cruise in 2010. The wildlife and the wilderness of both remote and familiar regions inspired him to keep exploring.
Read more -
Carol Knott
GuideCarol has been passionate about archaeology since her teens. After receiving a Masters degree in Archaeology and History from the University of Glasgow, she continued this work with excavations at some of the great medieval abbeys, Tudor and Jacobean palaces and historic gardens of England.
Read more -
Celina Fester
GuideCelina is a certified Arctic Nature Guide based in Longyearbyen. She is at her happiest when she is guiding other travelers either hiking, snowmobiling, out on boats or skiing over Svalbard’s beautiful glaciers. Sharing a great passion for the ocean she is also giving kayak courses on her days off. If you ask her about one of her greatest experiences in nature, she will answer, kayaking in the middle of a small pod of beluga whales in Svalbard.
Read more -
Christian Brüttel
Guide & Expedition LeaderAfter his teaching studies in Germany, Christian went after his long-cherished dream to live and study in the Arctic. He signed up for a yearlong guide study in Svalbard in 2012 and has since then been living in Longyearbyen, guiding in one of the most fascinating places in the world.
Read more -
Christian Engelke
Guide & Expedition LeaderChristian is one of PolarQuest's very knowledgeable and popular expedition leaders with extensive experience from our polar regions. Christian has spent many years in most places around Greenland and is one of our foremost experts on Greenland.
Read more -
David Berg
Guide and Expedition LeaderDavid has spent a big part of his life travelling between the Arctic and Antarctica, working full time as an adventure guide and Expedition Leader. He has a wide range of experience having led expeditions in various places including Svalbard, Greenland, Scotland, Iceland and South Georgia.
Read more -
Elke Lindner
Guide & Expedition LeaderAlways fascinated by cold and snow, Elke soon discovered the Polar Regions. This German scientist has spent extended periods of time in Svalbard and shorter periods of time in Greenland and in Antarctica as a student, field biologist and naturalist, working on various expedition cruise ships.
Read more -
Erik Edvardsson
GuideThe passionate bird lover Erik is an educated biologist, specialized in ecology and conservation. He has great experience from field studies and surveys all over Sweden and has also worked several years as a guide at Nordens Ark, an animal park that works with endangered species.
Read more -
Eva Molin Westerholm
GuideEva is an animal loving outdoor enthusiast from Sweden. She has been exploring our Polar regions for the last 15 years and considers herself very lucky to been able to see so much of this beautiful place on earth.
Read more -
Gerard Baker
Guide & Expedition LeaderGerard Baker is a seasoned polar veteran having spent the past 30 years working in polar environments, including four over winters in Antarctica.
Read more -
Gunilla Lindh
GuideNilla started her career as a guide as her love for the white, remote and pristine places of the polar regions became too strong to materialise into anything but a lifelong passionate career as a polar guide. When not guiding expeditions, she is fond of skiing and photographing wildlife.
Read more -
Hadleigh Measham
Guide and Expedition LeaderEnglish Hadleigh has been living and working in the polar regions for over a decade, spending most of his time on ice-strengthened vessels and icebreakers. He likes sharing his impressive knowledge with lectures on a broad range of topics and is also a keen diver, skier and mountainbiker.
Read more -
Hannah Lawson
Guide and Expedition LeaderHannah studied Zoology at the University of Liverpool and gained a Masters in Natural History Illustration from the Royal College of Art, London. After studying the parasites of mountain gorillas, she changed direction and worked as an artist and mural painter at Chester Zoo and in East Africa.
Read more -
Henrik Haaning Nielsen
Guide and Expedition LeaderHenrik has always had an adventurous angle to his life and is considered to be a specialist in identification of seabirds and marine mammals, with particular expertise in the Arctic. He has participated in Arctic cruises with the purpose of counting and mapping the distribution of seabirds and marine mammals.
Read more -
Henrik Tornberg
Guide and Expedition LeaderHenrik became part of PolarQuest in 2018 as our Operation Manager. He works "behind the scenes" with security and logistics for our guests and guides. But the polar bug still has a firm grip on him, and he guides several trips every year to experience the polar regions.
Read more -
Henry Wullf
GuideTravelling the world by profession, Henry is dedicated to the polar regions by heart. Made in Germany he feels Icelandic by heart but is now hailing from the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. Being deeply passionate about the world’s cryosphere and its distinct ecosystems, he truly believes that only by a comprehensive understanding of the closelyknit interconnected environment we will be able to protect it as we protect better what we know well.
Read more -
Ida Olsson
Guide and Expedition LeaderFormer history and physical education hight school teacher Ida has worked as a guide in the wilderness in the northern part of Sweden. At the moment she lives in Longyearbyen in Svalbard and guides travellers on kayak, snowmobile, glacier hikes and boat trips. She loves every second.
Read more -
Johan Carlsson
GuideTo become a Polar guide and walk in both his father's and grandfather's footsteps was an easy choice for Johan. On a trip with PolarQuest onboard M/S Stockholm he truly fell in love with the arctic wilderness of Svalbard.
Read more -
Karin Amby
GuideKarin lived in Longyearbyen for nine years and during that time she studied the fascinating Svalbard flora, gave birth to two children and founded the company FatBike Spitsbergen. Today she earns her living as a freelance guide and is proud to be at home with her kids in between her working periods.
Read more -
Kuba Potrawiak
GuideKuba consider the wilderness his second home. He has been a mountain and glacier guide on five different continents and he has a huge interest and love for glaciers.
Read more -
Laura Mony
GuideThe ocean has always been part of Laura’s life. Having spent time on sailboats since she was a baby, Laura sailed around the world crossing several oceans when she was between 12 and 14 years old. That trip increased her passion for the ocean because she discovered its vastness and its importance for the earth’s dynamic.
Read more -
Lisa Ström
Guide and Expedition LeaderInterest in the nature and environment was what first brought Lisa Ström to Svalbard in 2001, where she undertook studies in environmental technology at the university of Svalbard. While she completed a master in biology, the interest for the arctic regions increased and she settled in Longyearbyen, Svalbard for 12 years.
Read more -
Magnus Danbolt
Guide and Expedition LeaderMarin biologist Magnus's work has taken him to many places around the world, all the way from the tropics to the polar regions. He has surveyed penguins in the Sub-Antarctic, Monk seals in Africa and has been researching blue whales in the seas surrounding Iceland and Greenland.
Read more -
Malenthe Teunis
GuideMalenthe has always had a fascination for the polar areas, thus when the University of Groningen offered classes about the Arctic she quickly signed up. Since then her love for the Arctic has only grown. She is a Master student in Marine Biology with a focus on the Arctic regions and new technologies.
Read more -
Manda Lundström
Guide and Expedition LeaderIn December 2015 Manda joined her first expedition as a team member off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. She loves to travel and has spent several years abroad both working and studying. One of her greatest passions is marine mammals, which led her to Iceland to study marine biology.
Read more -
Marcel Paul
GuideWith an interest in exploration history and as a keen hobby photographer, the North Pole and the Arctic have always been drawing Marcel's attention. At his first arrival to Svalbard in 2011, he felt connected with the remoteness of the place and the dynamics of the polar nature.
Read more -
Margherita Lucadello
GuideMargherita fell in love with the Arctic while living at the Czech Research Station "Petuniabukta" in Svalbard for two months. She has also been living in Tromsø in Northern Norway and in the Maldives. Margherita has a master's degree in Marine Biology.
Read more -
Martin Berg
Guide and Expedition LeaderMartin’s passionate interest in birds and mammals has brought him all over the globe. He has always been drawn to adventures and has participated in several expeditions, for example to the Amazon rainforest, Caucasus and the Himalayas to study rare and endangered bird species.
Read more -
Mattias Horntrich
Guide & Expedition LeaderMattias started his career as guide at PolarQuest 2012 after he had been working as a diving instructor for many years. His great passion is the arctic mammals, but he is also a newfound bird enthusiast! Mattias also works on our expeditions in Antarctica, Africa and the Galapagos.
Read more -
Max Schweiger
GuideMax was born in Nuremberg, Germany and first started to work in the film industry, which brought him to Abisko in the Swedish Lappland where he got addicted to the Arctic landscape and decided to move to Svalbard. He works as a snowmobile guide in the winter and does hiking during the summer.
Read more -
Meike Sjoer
Guide and Expedition LeaderAlready as a child Meike did spend a lot of time in the forest in the Netherlands. During this time she developed a love for nature, wildlife, adventure and especially birds. All kinds of birds have always been a big interest for Meike.
Read more -
Mia Lundqvist
GuideIn 2010 Mia started working at PolarQuest and she now works as Staff Manager, putting the guide teams on the ships together. The same year she visited Svalbard for the first time, and as for most visitors, it was love at first sight. Today she is splitting her time between the PolarQuest office, the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Read more -
Miriam Vermeij
GuideMiriam's interest in nature led her to environmental science studies and she’s got a degree with a specialisation on soil pollution. Nowadays Miriam is a self-employed environmental planning officer working part time guiding travellers in the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Read more -
Morten Jørgensen
Guide and Expedition LeaderMorten has visited all seven continents and worked as a guide, lecturer, zodiac driver and expedition leader ever since 1997. Morten is a skilled and very keen observer of wildlife, an active ornithologist and there are no areas of nature that do not fascinate Morten.
Read more -
Nikita Ovsyanikov
GuideNikita has spent much longer time in the Arctic and around polar bears than most people on the planet. He is the Deputy Director for science and senior research scientist of Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve. On Wrangel Island, Nikita has in particular studied the polar bear population for decades.
Read more -
Nils Carlsson
Guide and Expedition LeaderNils is a Ph.D. in limnology/invasive species biology and splits his time between guiding in polar regions and working with issues regarding invasive species and wildlife management at different Swedish government bodies. He is a quite a storyteller and is very passionate about fishing.
Read more -
Patrik Jonasson
GuideMulti-tasker with many interests, but with the greatest love for birds, animals and nature. Works as a firefighter/rescue-teacher at the Rescue Service Storgöteborg. He also has a vocational teacher's degree from the University of Gothenburg with a focus on healthcare, care and social work.
Read more -
Per-Arne Åhlen
GuidePer-Arne is a northern biologist with a great interest in nature, which has resulted in countless trips to different parts of the world and exciting encounters with wild animals.
Read more -
Piet van den Bemd
GuideAs a child Piet developed a strong fascination for nature and wildlife. Together with his parents, he travelled to many different continents and countries, experienced new cultures and more wildlife than he has ever seen in his home country, the Netherlands.
Read more -
Pär Skog
GuidePär’s interest for travel and nature has followed him throughout his life. After his military service in the Mountain Rangers, he started his career in the travel industry within the hotel business in the United States, continued in mountain hotels in Sweden, and has worked with the indigenous people in Finland.
Read more -
Ronald Visser
Guide and Expedition LeaderWorking at the department of Marine Biology, University of Groningen, has brought Ronald from the Antarctic to the Arctic and many places in between. He has spent countless hours in Zodiacs and ships in the polar regions to collect water samples for biological research.
Read more -
Ryan Hope-Inglis
GuideBrittish Ryan lives in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, and guides winter trips on the snow and ice when not onboard. In his spare time Ryan enjoys rock climbing, mountaineering and mountain biking. He began his guiding career in Southern France as a white-water canoe instructor.
Read more -
Rutger Bianchi
GuideRutger has studied biology and has a particular fascination for animal behavior. He loves cold climates and the cold serenity of a winter landscape. The adaptations needed for animals and plants to survive in the rough Arctic is what fascinates Rutger. He loves being a guide in this magnificent place.
Read more -
Sandra Petrowitz
GuideOver a decade ago Sandra visited the polar regions for the first time. She immediately fell in love with the high latitudes’ nature, the beauty and the light. Sandra is an avid naturalist, traveler and photo-grapher with a keen interest in all kinds of nature observations.
Read more -
Sara Orstadius
Guide and Expedition LeaderSara grew up in Uppsala, Sweden, but lives since 2013 permanently in Svalbard. Sara has a master’s degree in linguistics and used to work as a translator in Stockholm and Berlin. But one day she decided to leave the office for the mountains and wilderness, and she spent the next couple of years up north.
Read more -
Sven Lidström
GuideSven has extensive knowledge about our polar regions where he has lived and worked for many years. He has worked on all the seven continents and has participated in countless research expeditions. Today Sven lives in Tromsø, northern Norway.
Read more -
Szymon Niezabitowski
GuideSzymon was born in Cracow, Poland. He studied biology and geography in Cracow where he received his graduate degree in “Facility of Biology and Earth Sciences”. His final thesis was about volcanic soils on Iceland.
Read more -
Thérèse Horntrich
Guide & Expedition LeaderThérèse is Swiss and grew up close to the Alps. She has a master degree in media and communication but her life changed direction when she visited Svalbard for the first time in 2010. Already the next summer she returned to Svalbard and worked as a trekking guide. In 2012 she left Switzerland and moved to Longyearbyen.
Read more -
Thijs Holkers
GuideThijs was born in the Netherlands. He has a huge love for snow and mountains, something that started already at a young age.
Read more -
Ursula Tscherter
GuideUrsula grew up far away from the oceans in landlocked Switzerland. When her childhood dream to see a whale came true, her life took a turn. For the following 20 years she studied whales, especially the highly fascinating yet poorly known minke whale in Eastern Canada.
Read more -
Vide Brandt
GuideVide is born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, but has been a Longyearbyen resident since early 2007. Ever since moving to Svalbard he has had an above average interest in hunting, fishing and outdoors activities such as snowmobiling and hiking. These interests gradually developed into a lifestyle, and hobbies became work.
Read more -
Zet Freiburghaus
Guide and Expedition LeaderZet is a former successful member of the Swedish national kayak team who after his active career gained a Master's degree in Molecular Biology. He loves travelling and is always planning his next adventure. His sharp eyes and great experience in nature implies he rarely misses an animal.
Read more -
Åsa Lindgren
GuideNormally Åsa's work consists of planning and conducting research expeditions to the Polar Regions; Antarctica, Svalbard and the Canadian and Russian Arctic. She previously worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, with projects focusing on ecotourism.
Read more
