The eruption on the Kamchatka Peninsula - Flat Tolbachik

Hello. A bit of a trip, or rather on the flight to Tolbachinsky dollars, which is now undergoing a volcanic eruption Flat Tolbachik.

Many years ago, sitting around the campfire at Tolbachik dale, I dreamed that if ever again erupting Tolbachik, I'll throw everything and fly to Tolbachik that have to see this spectacle.
It has been 36 years since the Great Tolbachik Fissure and that's November 27, 2012 the new fissure eruption started on the slopes of the volcano Tolbachik. When I called friends in the night from Kamchatka and talked about the beginning of the eruption, I immediately thought of this word himself and flew to Kamchatka. I was able to get there only to December 5th. It's not because I was going for a long time - the weather just would not let me.
8 Photo © Sergey Gorshkov





At this time I went on the official way. I registered in the Ministry of Emergency Situations. NG Magazine appealed to the Kamchatka Krai Administration with a request to assist in the organization and allocation of the helicopter shooting. But the helicopter was a short answer - "especially for a helicopter to lift Gorshkov will not, dear." They offered to go on Kozyrevsk at KAMAZ. But as it turned out with the local residents on the street Tolbachinsky dollars a few days ago it has filled up with lava flows. With Lazo, too, can only be reached before the lava. Sometimes it seemed that I no longer know what is going on there than the representative of the Administration. So I trusted myself and friends. There was only the helicopter. So we went with friends in the essay. On the way we stopped at the bridge and looked at dusk with 50 km of the volcano, but unfortunately the guys are to be seen.



I had a great desire to go there for a couple of days. I wanted to stay there for the night, for night shooting, on the advice of a friend, I asked the tour company - and for two nights on a plateau at the foot of the volcano, they asked two hundred thousand rubles. A lot or a little in this situation, I do not know and I did not hesitate and simply refused.

Early in the morning depart failed us Kozyrevsk called and said that Tolbachik not visible. We were able to fly only 10 hours and 20 minutes. Well now the sun rises late and it is just beginning to appear from behind the mountains when we flew to the volcano.

The first thing that is clear - pillars of smoke that shrouded the sky - lit forest, a stream of hot lava in a few days reached the area of ​​the forest, it is good that now there is snow, but it would have burned the whole boreal forest at the foot and the area for flights would be closed. Yes, and the population would have been a problem.



Lava flows and sweeps away everything in its path, seen from above, as it moves down the slope, covering trees and how they match flare up around the path of the lava flow. Snow from the heat melts and turns into steam that rises and mixes with the smoke from burning wood. And that steam, smoke and fumes from the lava flow of the sun is not visible.

Lava was divided into many languages ​​flooded vast areas and quickly rolls down the path of destroyed base Waterfall and Leningrad, as well as the base of the Nature Park Volcanoes of Kamchatka. Now a completely different plateau if earlier it was smooth plateau places like asphalt, but now everything has changed lava flow. On the car ride, you can forget forever. Although probably the way can always be found.



When arrived, some of the clouds could not see the crater, and the evaporation of the lava flow is so strong that it was impossible to remove - silhouettes of the crater and lava bursts were so blurred and so the whole first part of the shooting in the basket. At times the wind dispelled the clouds from the crater, but evaporation is still not made it possible to receive clear pictures. And we flew to another point.

Approached, the noise from the eruption such that a nearby person can not be heard. It is clearly seen as a hundred meters up the lava takes off, crashing down it flows from the crater and flows down rather quickly skirting the old cone. Here it freezes from the top and then flows under the crust of missed lava. A few days zavy flows slid down more than 10 km.

When you sit on the lava cooled down, you can hear the noise at the bottom of flowing and "live" lava. Only one problem, the sole boots began to melt and add the smell of rubber and his wife. The temperature of the lava, I do not know, but I stand by is not possible, it is hot.

The height of the lava flows of different, sometimes reaches a height of multistory building. Walking on frozen lava is very difficult - in the first place is not safe and it is very dry and virtually all plays and swims under your feet, and sometimes can be seen through the void like flowing down there "live" and from there the lava pyshit heat.

When the wind did not last long poem, then immediately began peplopal. Ash, the size of a large sea salt poured like rain. I still roll out the eyes of these grains.

Another problem places a strong fumes. In the words of Basil Yashchuk - "if the wind will change dramatically, we kirdyk, zasypet ash and suffocate." Gas masks were only two, I took with gauze bandages, but on the mask not even thought about it.



Several times we changed the point of shooting. Who Kamchatka docked about 17 hours, which means that at this time should have to fly in the essay.

The evening began the most interesting. Really, we were lucky, the wind drove the clouds with all of the crater, at dusk boiling lava flowed beautifully against the dark crater and the dark blue sky.



The colors become a lava river and the sky become so saturated that it seemed it was all happening somewhere on Mars. Sometimes I thought that this force can stop and realize that man is powerless. There is no way to stop it and force. In the evening sun at sunset through the smoke of burning down the forests, both through the yellow filter illuminated fantastic color rising column of ash and smoke from the volcano. This I saw when I was shooting Kizimen volcanic eruption in 2010. Flying over the red-hot lava through the open door sprinkles heat of molten lava. In nearby villages: Kozirevsk, Mayskoye, Keys ash falls were observed. On the opposite side, we have not got, but there's something going on, from there up the main pillar of smoke, and there we have not seen.



In the evening, called on meteorological, there we were advised to run away from the volcano, as another cyclone came to Kamchatka. At the time of our departure lava fountaining and lava flows into motion from the lower center continued. I want to say where I've been and seen a lot of things, but it is the most powerful eruption left an imprint in my memory. I want to go back and continue shooting. It happens once in a hundred years, there is no exact time in thirty-six years.

Today saw the broadcast on TV, there talked about the eruption and again, as always lied.

I want to thank my friends for company and support in this survey. First Alexey Malov, Victor Komarov, Dmitry Zadireya, Basil Yashchuk, Administartsiyu Kamchatka Territory, the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the insurance, the editors of NG. Special thanks to the commander of the helicopter Coast (sorry do not know the name)

Who is trying to break through the local road to the plateau. Yesterday and today many people willing to go to the volcano, call tomorrow know what news.
It would be great if we all tell about the sight worldwide. Few saw the like.



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