The moment that drove Colin Monteath to write a book about Mt Erebus, the mercurial Antarctic volcano, came in 1978. That was the year he first infiltrated its inner crater and then manned the ropes while a colleague descended, only for the mountain to erupt in their faces.
“The sky goes black with ash and hundreds of pieces of molten lava hurtle through the air,” Monteath records in his diary. “The trajectory of some bombs [slang for chunks of flying molten lava] spins them above the Main Crater rim, seemingly flying in slow motion. Other bombs come at us at head height with frightening speed… Somehow, no one is hit.’
Read the full interview with Michael Wright for Stuff here.
