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Extreme volcanic activity: Erta Ale, Ethiopia

Stormchaser George Kourounis heads to Ethiopia's Erta Ale to take a dip inside its active crater pits

From hurricanes to tornadoes, he's always been `fascinated with forces of nature,' writes Scott Simmie


Up until yesterday, this was the phone message you got when you called Toronto's George Kourounis.

"Hi, this is George. I'm in Africa right now, probably dangling off the edge of a volcano."

And that he was.

At a time when many Canadians dream of relaxing on a beach, Kourounis opted to mainline adrenaline. He travelled halfway around the world so that he could be lowered into an active volcano in Ethiopia. (And, yes, pulled back out again.)

"I've always been fascinated with forces of nature — hurricanes, tornadoes. And this is basically an extension of that," he said yesterday, still jet-lagged after arriving home late Thursday night from Africa.

For years, Kourounis has been spellbound by the extremes of our restless planet. Tornadoes in Kansas? He's there. Hurricanes in Florida? There, too, driving a 1999 Honda CRV jammed with so many gadgets it looks like a Future Shop on wheels. His website, stormchaser.ca, is packed with photos showing him in situations that prompt most rational people to run and hide (often, under mandatory evacuation orders).

But Kourounis is always pushing the envelope. So when he stumbled upon the news last year that the European Volcanological Society was planning an expedition to the remote Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia, he knew he just had to go.

His plan was to shoot some video from the volcano for Discovery Channel. More specifically, to capture that tape after being lowered inside one of its active "crater pits." This, to Kourounis, sounded like fun. (Two other friends of his also went along for the adventure.)

Fast-forward to early last week. Kourounis is in a convoy of three Toyota Land Cruisers crossing a region known as the Danakil depression, one of the hottest deserts on Earth. It's 45 degrees outside, and not much cooler in the vehicles. There are seven people, plus 13 local guides, drivers and security guards (including an 11-year-old armed with a machine gun).

It's also been raining, the region's first rain in two years. The convoy (sans air-conditioning) has slowed to a sweaty crawl. But the portable satellite phone, provided by sponsor Roadpost, is working just fine. Kourounis picks up the line.

"We're in a sea of mud right now. The desert has turned into a sea of mud," he says. He sounds very happy.

For the next couple of days, the convoy will slog its way through the guck. (There will also be some ``yuck'' as some members of the expedition come down with a nasty bug — forcing frequent stops for, well, you know.)

When the mud ends, a diabolical plain of solidified lava flows begins. Guides run (barefoot) ahead of the vehicles, directing drivers to avoid glass-like chunks of volcanic debris and suspension-busting ruts. (When necessary, they build makeshift ramps for the vehicles from stones.) Finally, 25 kilometres from the volcano, the terrain proves impassable. They're going to have to walk.

In heat Kourounis describes as "murderous," they hike their way last Friday to Erta Ale. They climb the 600 metres to its summit and gaze over into its massive crater. It reeks of sulphur dioxide.

"The smell was just, actually, choking," he says. (Depending on where the vile gas was moving, expedition members donned respirators.)

The crater of Erta Ale is a vast and wide depression known as a caldera. Generally, they're formed when a volcano literally blows its stack. Inside this depression are two mini-volcanoes known as "crater pits." They're where the action is, and Kourounis will descend into the most active of the pair.

` I'm (now) the first person in history to have ever filmed from inside a hurricane,

a tornado and an active volcano.'

Stormchaser George Kourounis
The last time anyone was here (and very few ever have been), the pit Kourounis is interested in was about 60 or 70 metres deep. Way down at the bottom was a churning pool of lava. A burning lake, if you will. He had planned to descend partway down, stand on a ledge, and pull out his digital video camera.

Things have changed since then. Kourounis finds that it's now about 20 metres deep with no visible molten lava. The volcanic material has cooled into a black crust analogous to ice on a lake. A couple of new and active cones called "hornitos" poke high from that surface, forming gas-spewing cones so hot they glow vibrant orange. The ledge is gone.

The question is, of course, just how thick is that crust? Kourounis and the team ponder the very real possibility that it might be thin in spots. Thin enough, perhaps, that someone might break through and take a brief swim in lava before being transformed into a brief but memorable human bonfire.

"I had no idea how stable this stuff was. The crust might only be a few centimetres thick, and what's underneath? Is there air underneath? Is there rock? Is there lava?" he recalls thinking.

"I know there's lava, but I don't know how far underneath the crust it is at this point."

Kourounis likes risk — but only calculated risk. So he starts hurling down large chunks of volcanic rock to see if they'd break the surface. Others on the expedition offer their opinion on which parts look unstable and which appear safe.

Satisfied that he was taking an acceptable risk, it was time to go. Outfitted with a heat-resistant suit and carrying a respirator, Kourounis was lowered down, down, down via a rescue system made by an Ontario firm named Griptech. (Griptech specialist Derrick Tessier, fascinated by the expedition, went along at his own expense and was in charge of the technical end of the descent.)

And then, "very gingerly," he set foot on the crust. And for a moment, simply stood there — awestruck.

"I got a sense of what it was like to walk on the moon. 'Cause I know for a fact that no human being has ever stepped where I was standing at this point in time," he says. "It's probably the closest thing you can approximate to being on another world."

With the rescue system held taut, Kourounis carefully explored the pit and shot his videotape. And then — crunch. His foot plunged through the black crust.

"Luckily, there was another layer of rock underneath."

After about 15 minutes of "pushing my luck," Kourounis was hoisted up. Then pal Brian Fletcher took a go, letting out a hearty "Woo-hoo!" that echoed throughout the crater pit when he touched down.

The trip back from the volcano would be as eventful as the trip in (one ill expedition member was strapped to a camel; a rescue helicopter that was sent initially failed to locate them, etc., etc.) But, as you by now know, they made it.

Kourounis will be back at work on Monday, doing post-production work for film and television. But he's got a new feather in his helmet.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm (now) the first person in history to have ever filmed from inside a hurricane, a tornado and an active volcano. I think I'm the first person to have ever done that intentionally."

And what's next for our intrepid adventurer?

"When I got home and checked my email, there was notice of an expedition to an even remoter volcano next year in Antarctica, Mount Erebus. I'm seriously considering that. It's got a lava lake."

Meaning if you call George at the right time in 2006, you just might get a very similar phone message.

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