Brave hiker films pyroclastic flow........as it is heading towards him!

This group is brave! I wonder if they knew this could happen?

I wonder if they know sometimes the gases in a pyroclastic flow can be lethal?



Very cool and very rare video anyways. Don't try to emulate this folks! Use a remote!

a reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Does anyone know if they survived this? The video ends with them immersed in a thick cloud of the pyroclastic flow..............hope they were okay.........

a reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Does anyone know if they survived this?

Translation of the video description reads "I was saved refuge hut is near"
I'm not sure that is a pyroclastic flow it's more like an ash cloud.

Here's an external view of the eruption plus the location (I guess) of the guy that filmed your video.

a reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Somewhere in the ether or in old video libraries is a video made of the exact same but far more dramatic escape of a hiker from the Mt. St. Helens' eruption in the 1980s. As I recall eleven other hikers didn't make it out. He was carrying one of the older, bulkier cameras and it was heart-stopping to watch as he raced down the mountain's slope to escape the mounting ash cloud as it progressively overtook his progress.

Not trying to mean,but there Is a differnce between bravery and foolishness-bravery imo would be if you rushed in to try and rescue someone from,say,an attack by a rabid dog,or a house on fire.No one's life depends on whether someone films some pyroclastic flow,just saying,you know? And to put yourself in harm's way for something inconsequential is more foolhardy than brave,imo. reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Very nice footage! But that's not a pyroclastic flow, it's an ash cloud. If it was pyro they would be carbonized instantly.

Yeah, I posted this video on volcano thread. That isn't pyroclastic flow, more like cinder cloud, as pyroclastic flow would have fried them, they didn't seem to panic much, they stayed calm even when the cloud reached them.

a reply to: Raxoxane

Yes, I agree, and you can see I mentioned people should not attempt this. I wonder if they knew this would happen? Probably not, they probably thought it was only a remote possibility. To get this close on purpose knowing with almost certainty this would happen, without the proper protective equipment, is certainly foolhardy.

a reply to: Thebel

Isn't a pyroclastic flow any kind of eruption coming from the volcano that doesn't travel upwards? I thought that was the distinction, ash/cinder clouds travel vertically, pyroclastic flows travel close to the ground; not trying to argue, just learn the terminology.

When did this happen?

originally posted by: Raxoxane
Not trying to mean,but there Is a differnce between bravery and foolishness-bravery imo would be if you rushed in to try and rescue someone from,say,an attack by a rabid dog,or a house on fire.No one's life depends on whether someone films some pyroclastic flow,just saying,you know? And to put yourself in harm's way for something inconsequential is more foolhardy than brave,imo. reply to: PlanetXisHERE

100% agreed here. But anything for a couple of minutes of youtube fame right? There is a pandemic of media jackassery.

a reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Apparently, a pyroclastic flow is:

A pyroclastic flow (also known scientifically as a pyroclastic density current[1]) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and rock (collectively known as tephra), which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h (450 mph).[2] The gas can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). Pyroclastic flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity. Their speed depends upon the density of the current, the volcanic output rate, and the gradient of the slope. They are a common and devastating result of certain explosive volcanic eruptions.

Wiki linky

In essence, the name is also a clue - roughly translated it means "fire cloud" and ones that are 250c or below are called "cold".

So, it would appear these hikers got caught in an ash cloud, possibly as a result of a pyroclastic flow but not actually caught in it. They would be instantly fried if that was the case and the camera would have been destroyed too.

Still, being caught in an ash cloud is dangerous enough. If that gets into your lungs it forms a cement and can literally make you drown in your own fluids.

Looks like they weren't expecting that ash cloud so neither brave nor facing pyroclastic flow. The thread title could probably more accurately say ''video: hikers caught by ash cloud''. They should have done some research and taken masks, or just avoided the close proximity.

metro.co.uk...

Climbers film as they are covered by ash cloud on an erupting volcano Mount Ontake

A group of climbers filmed themselves running for their lives after being caught on a volcano when it unexpectedly erupted.

Several climbers were scaling Mount Ontake in Japan this morning when it suddenly erupted, injuring at least eight people and leaving another 250 stranded near the peak, Japan Times reports.

One group were filming as they tried to flee the approaching ash cloud before it engulfed them.

The hiker who posted the video said the team managed to find shelter in a nearby hut, and local officials report that no one was killed due to the eruption.

However several commenters have expressed fear that the thick cloud of hot ash could do serious damage to hikers’ lungs.

Huichi Mukai, who runs a mountain lodge near the summit of Mount Ontake, said: ‘There was a thunderlike noise and the sky became dark because of the smoke.

‘There is now 15cm of ash on the ground.’

Mount Ontake, which sits in the centre of the Japanese islands, roughly 200km West of Tokyo, experienced its last major eruption in 1979 and is Japan’s second largest volcano.

a reply to: Meldionne1

A few hours ago. Mount Ontake, Japan Erupts. 11 injured possibly 250 trapped on mountain.

More here.

a reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Hey OP, why don't you throw some news sources up there?

Thanks.

originally posted by: PlanetXisHERE
a reply to: Thebel

Isn't a pyroclastic flow any kind of eruption coming from the volcano that doesn't travel upwards? I thought that was the distinction, ash/cinder clouds travel vertically, pyroclastic flows travel close to the ground; not trying to argue, just learn the terminology.

A vertical column of ash and cinders is hot when it first erupts and rises to great heights in a major eruption. As the cloud rises it cools and the heaver elements within the cloud collapse and flow down the flanks of the volcano.

This appears to have been a minor eruption which those people didn't see coming when they set out as tourists to "see the volcano". Lucky them that shelter was there, they probably wouldn't have survived otherwise. Hot or not, nobody can breathe ash.

a reply to: PlanetXisHERE

Heres the kind to run from. This was taken when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Phillipines.

a reply to: intrptr
I remember the first time I saw that video I watched it over and over fascinated by the speed of the flow.
Scary as hell if you asked me. I'll run from all types of eruption spew myself.

a reply to: howmuch4another

I'll run from all types of eruption spew myself.

Further, you won't catch me living around the base of a volcano either. In general if the soil there is "good for growing", you are in the path of destruction.

I would hardly call him brave just because he happened to be in a place that got caught by a pyroclastic flow. Its not like he made the decision to go out and get caught up in it.