{"id":7929,"date":"2023-08-01T19:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T17:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heroes-world.de\/?p=7929"},"modified":"2023-07-20T14:17:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T12:17:25","slug":"volcanoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heroes-world.de\/en\/blog\/2023\/08\/01\/volcanoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Volcanoes: Earth’s Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Climbing mountains isn\u2019t enough for Ulla Lohmann. This daring adventurer ventures inside. She is deeply fascinated by volcanoes and the people living around them. Her travels regularly involve spectacular displays of nature, curious cults, and very close calls.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

Fascination: Volcanoes<\/h3>\n
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Ulla was only eight years old when her parents took her on a trip to Pompeii. The visible marks left by the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius have been on her mind ever since. \u201cThe raw, primal force of nature – of Earth – is awe-inspiring. Our trip to Pompeii showed me what a volcano is capable of,\u201d recalled Ulla. The family vacation turned out to be a defining moment in her life, for she came away with a clear goal: She must see an active volcano. She must see lava.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen I was 18, I headed out to travel the world. At 19, I stood on the edge of my first volcano and gazed at Earth\u2019s heart.\u201d Even today, at the age of 45, Ulla has a twinkle in her eye whenever she remembers her beginnings. And the edge of the volcano was, indeed, only the beginning. \u201cAs well as showing me Pompeii, my parents gave me Jules Verne to read.\u201d After finishing Journey to the Center of the Earth<\/i>, Ulla decided that looking at lava from afar simply wouldn\u2019t do. \u201cI wanted to get as close to the lava as I possibly could.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Around ten years passed before she made her dream come true. \u201cThe first volcano I abseiled into was Mount Benbow on Ambrym in Vanuatu.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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A Hazardous Passion<\/span><\/h3>\n

To most of us, an active volcano is intimidating enough from a safe distance; abseiling into the lava quite simply seems like a death wish. But Ulla knows that volcanoes are not actually as dangerous as one might think. \u201cI take a calculated risk. Once the volcano degasses and the lava becomes visible, all the pressure has gone.\u201d This makes a surprise eruption highly unlikely. \u201cYou just have to monitor the situation for a certain period of time, then it\u2019s pretty safe,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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A journey into the lava requires a lot of preparation. The first step is to survey the site remotely before setting out on the adventure. \u201cFor example, there\u2019s the volcanic tremor – Earth\u2019s heartbeat,\u201d Ulla explains. That\u2019s when the ground shakes due to volcanic activity. She continues to monitor the volcano visually on site. \u201cWe always spend several weeks there before we climb up.\u201d Alpine risks such as rockfall and sudden changes in the weather must also be taken into consideration. \u201cVolcanoes always create their own weather.\u201d Just like in regular mountaineering, ropes must be securely belayed at all times. \u201cThen you have the heat – in spots where the volcano emits hot gases, for example. Better not put the rope on those,\u201d Ulla points out.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Ulla and her team usually take a lot of equipment on their expeditions: Research tools as well as photography and film-making gear. Transporting this equipment is almost as time-consuming as the work itself, so she often sleeps on the volcano – or even inside it. \u201cI enjoy sleeping outdoors. It’s part of the adventure for me; I want to spend as much time as possible on the volcano.\u201d She has spent as much as two months at a time outside in this way. But it\u2019s not a comfortable experience. \u201cYou need to wear a gas mask and set up a carbon dioxide monitor, which goes off when oxygen levels drop.\u201d Unsurprisingly, Ulla doesn\u2019t get a lot of sleep on her trips. Even at night, the ground around her continues to shake.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Close Calls<\/span><\/h3>\n

Despite her thorough preparations and impressive expertise, Ulla has encountered her fair share of situations that would make most people go into blind panic. \u201cOne time, I nearly didn\u2019t make it back up,\u201d she mentions nonchalantly. \u201cIt was starting to rain. When rain hits volcanic gases, it turns into acid rain. That damages the ropes.\u201d At the time, Ulla and her partner had already abseiled halfway down the crater. It took them eight hours to get back up. \u201cWe discussed, in a very matter-of-fact way, who would go up first. Neither of us wanted to keep going if the other didn\u2019t make it.\u201d In the end, a compromise was found: They climbed back up one after the other, step by step. \u201cYou just have to stay calm in situations like that. The calmer, the better. I never panic, and that’s what has always saved me. When you find yourself in a dangerous situation, just pause, breathe, and think.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ulla has even gone through the worst-case scenario that crosses everyone\u2019s mind when near a volcano. \u201cIn my early twenties, I was filming on an erupting volcano in Papua New Guinea. Suddenly, it went BOOM. The whole mountain exploded. And I was on top of it.\u201d There was nothing she could do other than get down as fast as possible. \u201cI just ran.\u201d She didn\u2019t even stop filming or commenting on her way down. Ulla admits that the experience was scary, but: \u201cI\u2019m more afraid walking through Munich at night than I am on an erupting volcano.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

The Volcano-Dwellers<\/h3>\n

Ulla often carries out research work during her trips to volcanoes all over the world, for example, by taking lava or gas samples. Personally, she is more interested in the societies emerging around volcanoes. \u201cThe cultural aspect is very interesting and somewhat neglected by scholars. Indigenous peoples have their own ways of observing volcanoes; they have a completely different understanding of nature.\u201d She has even written a book about the topic: Vulkanmenschen<\/em> (\u201cVolcano People\u201d) was released in April.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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The 45-year-old has had some very unusual experiences during her adventures. What took her to Vanuatu in the first place was her curiosity about the local John Frum cult: A religious community in the country that believes in an American god living inside the volcano. It probably goes back to American soldiers who landed on the South Pacific island chain in the 1930s and 1940s. One of them, \u201cJohn from America\u201d, is said to have helped the natives resist missionization. \u201cMany people travel there because of the cult.\u201d This is a desired effect: The phenomenon draws in tourists and, consequently, money to the region.<\/p>\n

In Papua New Guinea, Ulla learned about a chicken that warns people of volcanic eruptions. Rather than sitting on its eggs, the bird buries them in the hot ashes on the side of the volcano. \u201cThe closer the eggs are to the surface, the more likely it is that the volcano will erupt soon.\u201d When an eruption is imminent, the chicken simply places the eggs on top of the ashes. A similar phenomenon has been observed in Italy. \u201cGoats on Mount Etna wear GPS collars. Any changes in their behavior, any signs of nervousness, are an early warning sign for the people in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Back to Benbow<\/h3>\n

Ulla has visited quite a few volcanoes over the years. She has even been on top of Earth\u2019s highest volcano: Ojos de Salado in Chile. But there is one that keeps her coming back again and again. \u201cMy favorite volcano is Mount Benbow. It\u2019s where I saw lava for the first time ever, and it\u2019s also where my partner proposed,\u201d she said. She also likes Mount Stromboli off the Sicilian coast. All volcanoes are different, she explains, even though many people have a uniform, stereotypical image in their head.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, the lava is gray. Sometimes, there\u2019s gas. Some volcanoes stink, some don\u2019t. And sometimes, volcanic activity can even unite hostile tribes that have to deal with the aftermath of an eruption together.\u201d All that is within the power of nature\u2019s primal force. Despite many obstacles, Ulla\u2019s fascination for volcanoes and the people living near them keeps her going back for more. \u201cWhen you have a passion, leaving your comfort zone is no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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