In revisiting an adventure from a decade ago, science writer Ned Rozell tells the story of a harrowing trip for researchers to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.
Note from Ned:
Sleep also eluded pilot Sam Egli of King Salmon as he shifted in his seat while wrapped in a sleeping bag. Egli made the call to stay on top of Mount Mageik when ice formed on blades of his helicopter during what was meant to be a short trip.Overnighting within sniffing distance of a steaming volcanic crater in a vessel weighing less than a compact car was not what any of the trio wanted, but it was a circumstance each had thought about before it occurred.
There, Lopez pulled on heavy long johns, quick-drying field pants, rain pants, wool socks, two wool shirts, a fleece sweater and a rainshell. Paskievitch stepped into insulated coveralls and pulled on his climbing boots.They boarded the helicopter with the summit of Mount Mageik visible seven miles away. Egli floated them up, and they were soon on the rim of the summit crater with a volcanic lake on one side and crevassed glacier on the other.
Their job unfinished, the scientists gathered up loose gear and headed back to the helicopter. As they buckled in, Egli started rotating the blades. After the 15-minute task was complete, Paskievitch and Lopez slipped back into the helicopter. Egli again cranked the engine to life. As the three waited for a hole in the clouds, they again noticed the numbers climbing on the torque meter.“After I cleared one off and was working on the other, I looked over and saw the clean one was picking up ice again,” he said. “It was obvious it was a futile effort.”That was the moment all three realized they were not leaving the volcano any time soon.
Using a Sawzall, which he carries to hack through corroded fasteners during equipment removal, Paskievitch sawed through the 8-foot long, 2-inch diameter aluminum pipe that had been Lopez’s antenna mast. He cut it into three pieces, each a little more than two feet long. Volcano researcher Taryn Lopez smiles during her 48-hour wait inside a stranded Jet Ranger helicopter on top of Mount Mageik.
The helicopter grew heavier by the hour. Ice formed a shell several inches thick, with up to eight inches growing on the helicopter’s windward side. They opened the doors as few times as possible, only leaving the helicopter to relieve themselves.“When I went out one time, I kept getting knocked down by the wind,” said Lopez, the petite member of the group.
The large helicopter did not find that hole, but made overpasses for about three hours until another emerged. When the pilot radioed that he could finally see them from above, Egli, Paskievitch and Lopez exited the Jet Ranger and secured the doors.
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