Expedition
These explorers just climbed as close to a lava lake as possible and lived to tell the story.
Deep in the centre of Ambrym Island lies a bubbling lava lake, atop Benbow Volcano – a lava lake so massive it offers a window into the heart of the Earth. And last year, three explorers plus a film director, journeyed to the volcano and climbed inside it.
It’s pounding, it’s splashing, it’s blood, it’s the veins, it’s alive.
The three experienced rock climbers and alpinists included Lohmann, her husband Sebastian Hofmann and Volcano scientist Thomas Boyer. They traveled to the lava lake to not only collect samples of the lava and learn more about Ambrym’s explosive caldera, but also to realise the group’s dreams and unlock the mystery of the volcano.
Ever since I saw the volcano for the very first time, all I’ve wanted to do was to repel down – to go all the way down, into the crater, to be as close as possible to the boiling lava lake.
Drawn by these reasons, the group trekked through a thick rainforest and over a deserted lava field with over 600m of rope, tents, and equipment to the third terrace (the closest level to the lava) of Benbow.
The group constantly battled with the immediate dangers and their need to go further. Challenged by weeks of acid rain, the fear of deadly expositions, toxic gas and strong sulphuric winds, the three explorers let curiosity pull them closer and closer until they finally stood on the edge looking at the pulsating lava.
“There’s no warning signs saying stop here because it’s too hot, there’s only one way to find out and that’s to go down and get burned eventually,” Hofmann said. “But we made it that far, the conditions were perfect, and well, curiosity was winning over fear.”
Click here to watch the amazing story of the three explorers journey to the centre of the Earth. The footage is so incredible you too will feel humbled by the spirit of nature.