Flying Over Mount St. Helens: 1980 Volcanic Eruption Explained

[@raysantiago3750]

I was flying north toward Seattle Washington. I saw that small aircraft flying from West to East up against Mount St. Helens before the 🌋 erupted. I just thought that that was so crazy. As we passed by about 5 minutes later, our aircraft (Alaska Airlines) ✈️ felt the shockwave. I will never forget that day.

[@Caylynmillard]

Cool

[@blackholeentry3489]

After Mt St Helens blew, my 1st wife and I rode a motorcycle from CA to as near to the still steaming volcano as we were allowed (BLOCKED BY John Law)....quite a sight. I bought a one gallon container, scooped up some ash, which was a foot deep everywhere, back home and spread it over my back yard garden area. Then, I planted some tomato plants in that area the following spring. Those tomatoes grew so aggressivly, I eventually had to relocate my entire house about 30' farther north...and, hired three laborers to pick them! Made enough money to buy new motorcycles for myself and both of my sons!

[@tammylapointe6315]

I flew to Louisiana the end of May. Our pilot flew close enough so we could see the inside even though he announced that he wasn't supposed to. Nobody spoke a word and the flight seemed to be like a silent movie. I'll never forget what that red pit looked like that day.

[@Ghostshadows306]

I was on a canoe on Spirit Lake when it blew and managed to ride out the massive landslide into it. It was like being on a Logger ride at 6 Flags in a dust storm.

[@dwaynejordan5898]

I doubt that ​@@Ghostshadows306

[@kennethellison9713]

I hiked St. Helens in 1982 and was in shock looking at the amount of devastation up close. Surprisingly, sprouts of plants and trees could be seen finding their way through the deep ash, promises of life trying to repopulate the mountain.

[@Wolficorntv]

That must have been an amazing hike to experience. Thx for sharing.

[@annbower6278]

Volcanic ash is good fertilizer for plant life. Like a Phoenix, life renews from the ash.

[@lovewillwinnn]

The earth 🌎 amazingly renews itself when left alone. Our Creator knew what he was doing.

[@aeaegaeaeg9347]

تقدس الله الخالق ​@@lovewillwinnn

[@paulmazzucca7335]

My wife and I camped above spirit lake in 2001 and we noticed how the vegetation and animal life was beginning to return. It’s amazing how we don’t realize how time shapes our landscape. The earth does not really care about us humans. We play a incredibly small role in its overall history.

[@Wolficorntv]

I'd love to go camping there

[@fish1907]

Almost no one in all these videos even mentions the eruption’s slaughter of animals, and the immense suffering of those who miraculously survived. Massive numbers continued to die long after the eruptions because their source for food and water had suddenly been destroyed. It breaks my heart.

[@Zonaxion-SG-12]

However the small part that we might play, its,out negligence and lack of stewardship that is killing our planet, and its the major nations doing it with reckless toxic waste management, not global warming. Habitats being wiped out due to corporate greed, migratory animal safe havens being destroyed. Valuable insects for pollination and balance killed by pesticide overuse. Unless mankind stops and reevaluates their relationship to the Earth, we are all dying with it.

[@Zonaxion-SG-12]

correction: its our neglegence*

[@davidlong3219]

Paul, time didn't have a thing to do with what happened. Triggered by an 5.1 magnitude earthquake at 8:32:11 AM on May 18, 1980, the entire north face of the Mt St. Helens slid away in the largest terrestrial landslide in recorded history and began a nine-hour eruption. The shock wave was seen and recorded by NASA satellites in space and was heard for 200 miles. The 680° F lateral blast traveling at over 200 mph took approximately 46 secs to reach volcanologist David Johnston where he was camped six miles NE of the mountain. When it hit him, his body spontaneously disintegrated. His last words were over the radio to the US Geological Survey office in Vancouver, WA. "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it! This is it!" He was never heard from again. At Spirit Lake Harry Truman the old man who wouldn't leave his Lodge was buried alive under 150 feet of volcanic debris. The blast displaced the water in the lake pushing it more than 800 feet up to the ridge tops surrounding it before settling back down and clogging the whole lake with pyroclastic mud and blown down trees and depriving the lake of oxygen. The lateral blast flattened 230 SQ miles of forest and created a 1/10 scale model of the Grand Canyon in three minutes. It destroyed over 167 miles of roads, and killed 57 people. The volcano was shortened by 1,300 feet from 9,677 ft to 8,366 ft in a matter of seconds and created a crater a mile wide and 2,000 feet deep in an explosion equivilent to somewhere betwern 10 and 50 megatons of TNT, that's 2,500 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Japan in 1945. During the nine-hour eruption, the mountain rocketed 520 million tons of ash into the air (that's 57.7 million tons per hour). The ash rose 80,000 ft into the atmosphere, blackened the sky in eastern WA and within two weeks, it circled the entire earth. The heat of the eruption melted hundreds of tons of snow off the flanks of the mountain and created a giant lahar (tidal wave of melting snow and pyroclastic mud along with thousands of blown down trees) that wiped out everything in its path all the way down the Toutle River Valley including 47 bridges and 250 homes. It left dozens of layers of sediment adding up to over 600 feet in some places, layers that many people think take millions of years to form. Scientists estimate that the eruption killed: 11 million fish, 27,000 grouse 11,000 hares, 5,200 elk, 1,400 coyotes, 600 blacktail deer, 300 bobcats, 200 black bear, 15 cougars and a herd of 15 mountain goats that the department of wildlife had planted on the mountain. If that doesn't testify to God's awesome power: Within days after the eruption, surprised scientists flying over the blast zone in a helicopter spotted fresh dirt mounds and were amazed to discover that western pocket gophers had survived the blast underground. Many lakes in the area had still been covered in ice and snow and were protected from the pyroclastic flow. In fact, animals like frogs and salamanders in lakes whose surfaces were shielded by a layer of ice were able to go about their spring courting and within weeks of the eruption, their babies emerged. Trees in the perimeter area outside the direct blast zone hadn't bloomed yet and were protected by snow and their blossoms and new growth unfolded after May 18. If the eruption had been a couple weeks later, they also may have been wiped out. The brecken fern that has roots deep under the ground is another plant that survived and in 1983 scientist found seeds that had been buried for three years were still able to germinate. Also many trees in open areas that had just been reforested were accustomed to much hotter temperatures than vegetation in dense forests also survived. It doesn't take millions of years for hundreds of miles of landscape to change forever. Mt St Helens proves that evolution is a lie.

[@danidavis3716]

I lived on Spirit Lake Hwy in Castle Rock, WA. I was six when my dad woke me up to say, Mt. St. Helens blew her cookies. My parents were on the Castle Rock fair board so that evening we went to see how bad the damage was. We spent two years manually digging out the buildings that are still used today. I had friends and teachers who escaped but lost everything they owned. My dad took us for a drive later that day to see what damage we could see. Not far away we went to the Tower Bridge which I’d just gone over Friday morning on my school bus, the entire bridge was gone!! We have pictures of the mushroom ploom we took from our backyard. Not long after it blew my dad was laid off from his job at the now closed, Reynolds Aluminum Plant in Longview, WA. One of his side jobs was to work at the base of the mountain where they had pumps running 24/7 trying to keep the river running. That volcano still scares me and the few times I’ve been up there since, I couldn’t leave fast enough. The quietness scares me!! In 1995 I took a helicopter ride into the base. The sound of the blades echoeing, sounded like an eruption which was terrifying!! I have so many memories from that day in May and beyond that aren’t in any history books!! At only six years old, her eruption was one of my first memories!! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come up with so many questions to ask my parents who’ve both passed. Fortunately I do have tons of pictures my dad took during the eruption, right afterwards, the cleanup of the fairgrounds, and from his time working on the pumps. I just wish I knew the stories behind them!!

[@Wolficorntv]

thx for sharing!

[@jonboz7585]

Why not write this up. With your photos, it would make an interesting read. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@GeistView]

Don't forget about Gerry Martin. He was giving a play-by-play of the eruption as it happened. He was on the ridge line just past Johnston and witnessed (and described) the landslide at the mountain, the vertical blast, and the wall of mountain that went over Johnston Ridge (describes the "car and trailer" being swept away). Gerry like Johnston was never seen again. "see you later Gerry"

[@Wolficorntv]

That audio recording of his is haunting

[@bricecanon]

As a european citizen I've always been fascinated by Mt St-Helen history. Thanks for this awesome video!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@61Slughi]

I climbed St.Helens 10 years ago. They only let 100 people a day on the mountain. Got a permit for $25 and we started climbing. It was hiking around rocks, over rocks from one rock pile to another going post to post (there is no real trail, just posts used as guides). The last 1/8 of a mile was climbing in soft sand. For every 3 steps, you lost one. If it's sunny, you'll be baked alive. Got to the top and my first thought was "I don't think we should be here". Lots of ominous low frequency rumbling and car sized boulders rolling into the crater. We started at 5am and didn't get back to the car until after 8pm.

[@Wolficorntv]

Sounds like a great, albeit challenging, hike. I would love to give that a go one day. I climbed Mt Whitney but that was 10 years ago and my endurance isn't at that same level at the moment.

[@61Slughi]

@@Wolficorntv Permits get snapped up really quickly. I got mine in February for an August climb. Spend the night at the trailhead for an early start. There is about 2 miles of easy hiking before you hit the rock piles. We found out if you stay to the right side of the rock piles, there was an easier path around them. Take it easy climbing around the rocks. You don't want to burn yourself out and have nothing left for the climb down.

[@Atlasworkinprogress]

It's been a year since you posted this, but I just did the hike at the beginning of August. It was absolutely grueling. Being from Texas, the heat and sun wasn't too bad, guess we're used to it, but the elevation gain was shocking for someone like me who is used to climbing in the Rockies. The rocks weren't too hard going up. I struggled a bit, but I also was congested and not in the best condition for the climb. Others in my group in similar shape said it was tough but not unmanageable. We all agreed that going down was way worse than coming up. With all that being said, getting to the top, looking out over the crater and down towards the lava dome and glacier, watching rocks fall all around from the crater rim, seeing the fumaroles smoking with volcanic gasses... It was beautiful and terrifying all at once. We had our beer and celebrated the climb up, but it was a much more somber experience than we had expected. 10/10 hike. Go do it. It makes you feel more than just awe at a beautiful view.

[@larrymcguire5587]

I attended the Longview MCA camp on Spirit Lake in 1952 thru 1956. We climbed the mountain twice - once from Truman;s side and once from the ape caves side on the south. The remnants of the old forest service fire lookout were still there. In 1995, my wife and I got the opportunity to go into the crater by helicopter (bluebird), spend the day behind and on the dome and hike out at the end of the day. The dome was re-building and the rebuilding and there were steam vents and ice caves. This was before the "whale back" formed. Two great trips that we'll never forget We live in Dallas now. No volcanoes down here. Thanks for the fly-over. I knew Harry Truman.

[@randomsk8r91]

Always love your videos! My family was living in Montana when St Helen’s blew. We had ash 4 inches deep in our yard… My husband was with the Forest Service, and when the mountain was set to reopen a year later, forest service personnel were invited for a personal behind the scenes tour. I’ll never forget that trip, or the events on May 18.

[@Wolficorntv]

wow...thx for the personal anecdote. Glad you enjoyed the video Patti!

[@johndej]

Great video! I grew up in Longview, WA and spent many summers at the Longview Y camp as a camper, then on the staff. My wife and I spent our honeymoon in September of 1979 camping at the lake because I kept telling her that it was the most beautiful place in the world. Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake have always held a special place in my heart. I even had a few 'interesting' interactions with Harry Truman. While a camper, the Forest Service would often send a ranger over to talk about the mountain and potential eruptions. Back then, what they predicted was no more than some of the very small eruptions during the early dome building period as I recall. Boy, were they wrong! I've taken a couple of charter flights over the mountain, including one a year to two after the eruption. It was quite a shock to see what that area had become. Thanks for sharing your flight and information.

[@Wolficorntv]

Cool story. I'd love to hear more about your Truman interactions. I imagine he was a salty character, LOL

[@charleshall3596]

Nice story!! I too spent 30yrs camping /hunting/fishing in Spirit lake area. MY best friend Rob Smith who,s Family owned the SPIRIT LAKE LODGE was my constant companion. Drank whiskey with Harry in his Kitchen and listened to his player Piano. Had so many adventures that I fondly remember. Just went on long Hike to Miners creek to enjoy the OLD growth timber. Great video also. PHIL

[@blackholeentry3489]

@@charleshall3596 My first wife's uncle lived in McMinnville, OR. At the local airport sat a plane....for $100, a guy would fly three people to Mt St Helens, so we took the flight. The pilot actually made two complete circles around the mountain and we got a strong smell of sulpher. I had grown up in the Carlton area, and, as an added bonus, he overflew that area on the way back. Well worth the money spent.

[@watchthis6246]

Well done! Nice blend of education and aviation.

[@barrywallace6727]

Very well done, especially the historical footage, some of which I had not seen before. As a degreed geologist and growing up in Oregon, I spent a lot of time tracing the volcanic history of the Cascades from Mt. Lassen to Mt Baker, crawling through lava tubes, and gathering pyroclastics. On that fateful day, a Sunday as I recall, I was working at the Hanford Project, directly downwind. By 5pm it was dark and it looked like we were in a snowstorm of grey powder falling from the sky. The fine glass shards plugged air filters, making cars inop. Buildup on power lines caused shorts and loss of power. It was a bad day for those of us 40 miles from Richland and working at a nuclear plant needing electricity to keep the cooling pumps running (think Fukushima in 1980). Our emergency generators needed large volumes of air but soon died when their filters plugged up. No one had ever anticipated a loss of offsite and onsite power from volcanic ash fall. Some heroic actions saved the day and no one was none the wiser.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx for the personal account. The more I dug into the story the more interesting it all became to me. I'd love to spend more time on the ground exploring the area next time.

[@briankoski817]

I was 15 in Richland when it blew. I remember it was a Sunday, I slept in but, something woke me up at about 8:30. I looked out my bedroom window and saw total blue sky. I looked out the window again at about v10:30am and saw 'clouds' in the sky. My brother then just told me St Helen's just erupted again. We went out & swept ash off the cars & driveway.. Still have it. It was a weird day. Thanks for saving the power grid at the #2 plant. The clouds looked like massive moving grey pillows. We barely got ash. 1/8"? .. Most went N/NE... Thanks.

[@maperna99]

Beautifully done. Loved the history, background music, editing. Very professionally done and informative.

[@midlifeppl4969]

Another quality video from you. As a 17 year old, I was in Spokane and remember the aftermath. Thanks for the nostalgia.

[@Wolficorntv]

You must have received alot of the ash fallout in Spokane.

[@phillipzx3754]

You got nailed by Ash in Spokane. 😲 I was in Port Townsend (Rhodie Festival) that morning. We had to cut over to the coast (to Aberdeen) and head south on 101 down to the Columbia. We crossed the river in Longview over to Rainier, Oregon. Then from there to Portland so we could cross the Columbia into Vancouver. 🤣 They had I5 shut down from Castle Rock to a bit south of Longview.

[@richard594]

I came across from Vancouver Island where I worked was visiting my mom and my sister and her husband in Burnaby, just outside of Vancouver, I was still lying in bed when St.Helen erupted that Sunday morning and we heard it in Vancouver. A brother of mine was on a weekend camping trip in Blaine, Washington, and recall hearing the blast also. I will always remember that sound, that Sunday morning.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx for the anecdote!

[@dropkickirish4449]

At a time, and in a world, where it’s all been done before and originality has fallen sloppy dead, you’ve legitimately created a new angle to interesting education. Instead of just resting on your laurels of being a pilot with his own plane, you’ve gone above and beyond with filming, researching, animating, narrating, and editing videos to an incredibly effective and professional degree worthy of National Geographic, and created something magnificently beautiful. I’ve only subscribed to a few channels in the almost two decades I’ve been on KZbin, but you’ve sincerely earned another subscriber, dude. Please keep up the great work with these videos. I’m from the Adirondacks, but have lived in Colorado for the last twelve years. So if you could cover either one, or both, of these mountain ranges, that’d be most excellent.

[@Wolficorntv]

Comments like your are really appreciated. I've enjoyed making this niche format. I'm a one man band (for now) so I can't produce them as often as I'd like, when balancing with non-flying obligations. That said, I have more topics I want to cover and I'll take your suggestions into consideration. They are both beautiful areas. Thanks.

[@foobarmaximus3506]

Slurp a little harder dude.

[@dropkickirish4449]

@@foobarmaximus3506 Uh oh, seems like we have an angry little man on our hands. And it’s, “Slurp a little harder, dude.” See how I put a little comma there, buddy? Punctuation is hard sometimes, huh? But it’s very important that you know how to write like an adult big person so people don’t think you’re a dumb shit. Keep trying, and I promise you’ll get the hang of, big guy. I’m soooo proud of you! 🙂

[@noahfree3454]

Read this in optimus prime voice.

[@dropkickirish4449]

@@noahfree3454 I've been smoking cigars since I was 6, so that's probably what you're picking up on.

[@Jeff-jh9rh]

A day I well never forget. May 18th a beautiful Sunday morning. I was 18 at the time living in St. Helens Oregon right across the Columbia river from Washington state and about 70 miles south of mount St. Helens. We were on the docks on the Columbia getting ready to go boating for the day. Then it happened. We never got one bit of ash from the eruption it all went north and east of us. Watched it until the sun went down. It is seared in my memory for ever.

[@billfly2186]

Beautifully shot and edited. Enjoyed it!

[@BackyardBeeKeepingNuevo]

What a great video. I was 13 at the time and remember studying the eruption in science class. This video took me right back to the day it happened.

[@mn4169]

I was 17 and saw it on the news. Wow moment in my younger years, and fascinated since then.

[@FreedomFighter-id7ut]

I remember when Mt. St. Helens erupted. I was a child living in Albany, OR, and we had ash falling for months that far away. Your videos are amazing, and love hearing about all of the history and details you provide. Thank you for what you do and share.

[@Cake41579]

I was expecting you to have well over 500k subscribers with a video of such high quality and perfect delivery. Well done my friend.

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!

[@stephenmcgeown]

That was fantastic. I remembered this also from when I was a kid and remember being taught about in high school later. The information and production in this video was top quality - I think your best work yet - and I hope you get the recognition you deserve.

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you enjoyed it Stephen! It's a topic that deserves a much longer video than what I created. I encourage you to share it on FB or other social media platforms. That's what I've found to help give my videos traction in the past.

[@GeezerGeekPilot]

Bryan, I love it that my favorite KZbin storyteller (seriously) is back telling stories!! And what a thunderous story this is. Thanks! Wayne (DA40 KSBA)

[@Wolficorntv]

Kind words Wayne.

[@auggie803]

-I to love the tails he tells about mt saint Helens on that faithful day.

[@MsDaisy173]

My cousin from Portland was visiting in Kansas during the eruption, she was so disappointed she missed the eruption. Will never forget this event.

[@tyroneclarke1666]

Great video thank you. Drove out to Johnston Ridge lookout years ago. I’ll never forget the experience. The sky was clear and you could see for miles. Can’t believe the destruction and how much was removed from the mountain. Cheers 👍🦘🇦🇺

[@NSRS1]

This was an awesome video! Thanks for making it

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx!!!

[@rapideddie1399]

You picked a beautiful day for the flight, thanks for the video. I’ve made that flight a number of times over the years and it never gets old. Most recently in a C150 from Auburn. Boy, was that a long, slow trip!

[@Wolficorntv]

As you probably know...good clear conditions to film around there can be challenging. I was studying the weather there often, looking for a good 3-day window to fly up, film and fly back (that matched my schedule). Wildfires were also a big consideration. I'd def love to go back again.

[@kennedygauger4680]

Great video. I remember the event well. I was in graduate school at the University of Wyoming at the time. The ash from the eruption created the most beautiful red sunsets for a long, long time. Ash also fell from the sky afterwards. In 1983, I went for a flight in a small plane and the only colors evident were brightly-colored algae in the streams. It was amazing to see any evidence of life among a moonscape full of tree-sized toothpicks.

[@Wolficorntv]

I can imagine how all of the ash particles could make for epic sunsets. Probably not great for the airplanes to fly thru!

[@mgentleman1]

I was a 13 year old Scottish lad and remember this vividly, crazy that you can see the lava dome bulging in the crater.

[@TheMissendenFlyer]

Superb video - very enjoyable and a very professional production - you deserve way more views and subscribers!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it. Hopefully this one gets a little traction. It's off to a slooooow start.

[@TuomoMooneyFlying]

Your best flying video yet! Beautifully edited, fabulous camera work! Loved the story telling. Gonna watch several more times and take notes!

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@kevinhensley4643]

This is so fascinating to me, I've watched this several times. Mt St Helen's erupted the week I was graduating high school. Love the look from your plane also. Thank you

[@linusoliver2847]

Once again, another great video! You have the best areal videography on KZbin! Great music, great history, great job!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you enjoyed it Linus. It sure was a fun one to make.

[@kh40yr]

Was driving to Church in Castle Rock when it blew. Didn't hear a thing. Once Church was over, we were not allowed to cross back over the Cowlitz river to go home. State Patrol had already blocked the Castle Rock Bridge due to the anticipated wall of mud. I worked the blowdown/blasted down timber recovery from 1982 to 1984. Pops was a private pilot for 40 years. I was very lucky to fly all over the devastated areas with him after the eruption. Dad owned a stunt plane at the time. In 1983 with his stunt plane(Bellanca Citabria) we made a pylon/knife edge turn INSIDE the crater and below the crater wall lip. We made a turn inside the crater, around the mini dome, and flew back out again. 40 feet below me,,looking out the side window, was the smoldering mini dome. I could smell sulfur and see rocks tumbling down. I still live in Castle Rock. I was 13 when it erupted.

[@Wolficorntv]

wow...that plane ride must've been a trip!

[@JoseRuiz-sr6xu]

Thank you..great video!! HOPE YOU DO one over mount Baldi San Bernardino.

[@community1949]

Big difference between this volcano and the one that is slowly oozing out lava in Iceland. Mount St. Helens exploded spewing a pyroclastic flow which was impossible to outrun. Not so in Iceland - that lava is slowly devouring the landscape but is is easy to get away from it.

[@baneverything5580]

There are some very dangerous volcanoes in Iceland though on the north end, i believe, although I can`t pronounce or write their odd names. An eruption there dimmed the sun and caused the Dark Ages and the Black Plague but it had help from others, likely one in El Salvador and Krakatoa as well. But my point is...those very dangerous volcanoes in Iceland become active when the ones around the Blue Lagoon region erupt and they`re showing signs of awakening. An expert is saying Campi Flegrei has a 95% chance of an eruption too. These can affect us all. The large recent eruption of Tunga Tonga (or whatever) caused all the recent flooding and odd weather. But the media couldn`t pass up this opportunity to blame all of it on climate change so their stocks in batteries, EVs, solar panels, copper, windmills, mining etc can make a profit.

[@fish1907]

And your point? I guess what you’re saying is we shouldn’t feel bad for the people or the animals in the vicinity of the Icelandic volcano. 🙄

[@henrywight4057]

Great video, I was there. I was in Tacoma when she blew. Mi friends and I jumped in my truck and headed that way. The state police made us turn around about 25 miles west of the mountain. I will never ever forget that day.

[@Dolores5000]

Thank you for taking us along

[@richardnatividad2962]

I was there two weeks before the eruptiogn, on my honeymoon with my new wife. We made it to a road closure where there was a group of people hanging out, and there was a vendor there selling T-shirts. (Mount Saint Helen's Moving her Ash ) we bought one of those shirts ! Great job by the way on this video very well done. I can tell you love flying that plane.. safe and happy travels to you !!

[@Wolficorntv]

Cool story. Thx for sharing!

[@seaswirl79]

I flew over Mt St Helens quite a few years ago. I approached from the west low where you couldn't see any of the damage. I went over the rim quite low where the catastrophic damage was suddenly blatantly obvious. It was REALLY impressive. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words but seeing it up close is another world. You can look at pictures of the Grand Canyon but until you see it, pictures don’t do it justice. The same for St Helens. If you fly over the rim up close, it’s impressive. I was 23 in Spokane when it erupted and it coated Spokane with ash.

[@kevinhensley4643]

Excellent video. Thank you for all you do. I'm like you and am fascinated with Mt. St. Helen's. I graduated from high school just 1 week after the eruption, and it has stuck with me ever since.

[@Wolficorntv]

glad that you enjoyed it Kevin!

[@christopheraust]

Very cool. You've got an obvious talent for telling this kind of story and you personal interest in the subject matter shines through. I always look forward to watching you videos.

[@Wolficorntv]

I appreciate your comment Chris. The longer I do this the more I learn about what kind of videos I really enjoy making.

[@auggie803]

J The power of 1,600 Atom bombs.

[@captureit_]

Wow! I just stumbled over your video. I watched a lot of Helens videos already but never came across yours - How? I mean this one is amazing! I love how you compare the footage from the to now and how you packed all important information in the video. I even saw footage, I have never seen before. Definitely my favourite Helens video ❤

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!

[@Dirk80241]

Excellent video, great shots and very informative. Thank you!

[@loadedgoat3966]

Here we are, 43 years to the day... I remember that morning. I was on I-5 driving south, and my mom was on I-5 driving north. We both were delayed (for hours) just before the Toutle river, because of the mud and log flows being washed down. The Toutle flows into the Cowlitz, which flows into the Columbia, which eventually flows into the Pacific. A couple weeks later, I got a job helping to dredge out the river. I was on the fill crew of one of the pipeline dredges. The spoils were pumped up to maybe a mile away onto some hastily appropriated land. I worked in the area where the Cowlitz river passes through the town of Kelso Washington. One of several fills was at the Kelso Elks golf course. I don't know how much material we put into that fill. Tens of thousands of yards at least. Years later, the Three Rivers shopping mall was built on top of it. Do a maps search for 'three rivers mall Kelso' and you'll see it. I didn't work on the following site, but do a maps search for 'toutle river bridge I-5'. Then travel ~900 ft. north using street view. Off to the left, you will see a pile of sand, it's got to be 70 feet tall. That was dredged out of the river by dragline. It wasn't probably more than a couple years, and the Toutle and Cowlitz were dredged and posed little to no threat to the towns, and the Columbia was cleared for safe travel for shipping. The material we dredged was really coarse sand, with quite a few rocks in it, maybe up to 6 inches in diameter. I still have a few of the rocks. I think I did this for 8 months. It was a time to remember. Great movie BTW.

[@anthonylove821]

I was only 9 years old but remember when st Helen’s erupted… one of my late neighbors friends went to st Helen’s and brought me back ash that I have had since I was a child… I have a few other artifacts from st Helen’s…. I have been very fascinated with the 1980 explosion as well…. May God Bless those that lost their lives that day

[@Pilot_Dad_Adventures]

Nothing better than these aerial shots... gives the most incredible view ... would love to see your take on Monument Valley and Grand Canyon too. Then perhaps Sedona ... Zions NP ... On your way out of Oregon, hit Crater Lake for sure! After watching this, I definitely am going to fly up there and see the same. Also the San Juan Islands are incredible and so easy to reach with GA. You can camp right under your wing at Orcas Island. Thanks Wolfi !!!

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx Phil. It's epic scenery for sure. Thx for the location recommendations. Monument Valley could certainly be a good one. Some locations can be tricky to film from the air b/c of airspace restrictions...Grand Canyon being one of 'em.

[@Pilot_Dad_Adventures]

@@Wolficorntv If you ever want to do some of these as a flight of two or more. Drop me a line. I have a 182 and like to travel - Cool to get some camera shots of the planes from the air too. Cheers!

[@Wolficorntv]

@@Pilot_Dad_Adventures where are you based?

[@Pilot_Dad_Adventures]

@@Wolficorntv KCVH... (about 1.5 hrs NW of KWHP)

[@charleslawson6824]

So glad to see you back and with such a fine installment in (what I will call) your “Grand Geology” series. Thank you *very* much for posting. Another timely installment might be Lake Meade. I would also be interested in a Salton Sea episode and (as another poster suggested) a Monument Valley fly-through (with all the planning and self-announce details). I hope the puppy adapts to the Tiger and can go along soon...

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it and thx for the suggestions. I def like to hear what everybody thinks. The puppy hasn't been in the plane since BUT we will get her in there again sometime and try again.

[@Northerncalwolf]

Great video! When St Helens came back to life in 2004 My friend and I flew around it a dozen times. I took over 1,000 pictures of the smaller eruptions. I was fortunate to have had access to a friend with a plane.

[@Wolficorntv]

flying around it when it was active....must've been a cool flight.

[@Northerncalwolf]

It was amazing. I would love to share a couple pictures of our flights. @@Wolficorntv

[@gordonfeliciano4315]

Very cool.. I was just shy of my twelfth birthday when she went up. Amazing how much devastation that event caused. It makes you have a tremendous respect for nature... and shows how insignificant we all are on this planet. Well done.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx Gordon!

[@mumbles552]

Thanks for posting this as it brings back memories of that day. I was salmon fishing off Sooke that morning and never heard the blast over the noise of the boat although many others in the Victoria area did. Friends up in Cowichan Lake heard it as the sound traveled up the Cowichan Valley up to the lake and reverbrated off the hills surrounding the lake.

[@Wolficorntv]

Crazy story. Thx for sharing.

[@blinderII]

Hey great video! Hard to believe it's been over 40 years! I live on the east coast, in New Brunswick, Canada (beside the state of Maine). A few days after the eruption, we woke one morning to discover everything covered in ash. Fortunately, it was not extreme, but enough for people to take measures in hosing down their houses, driveways, washing vehicles etc.. I can't remember hearing if the ash cloud reached across the Atlantic to Europe, but it wouldn't surprise me. Thanks for sharing your video. Cheers from the east coast!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!

[@blinderII]

@@Wolficorntv I did! Thanks!

[@jeefflanyt]

Just awesome Wolfi. I was based out of KWHP several years ago and remember meeting you at the fuel pit. I was grateful at that time to thank you for making these. I grew up in Socal and love the desert. Your video on the Burro Schmidt tunnel was great. I have been there several times. I also flew over the San Andreas fault, inspired by your work, and also to the Victorville staging area after the 737 Max debacle, again inspired by your videos. Please keep up the great content. If you are ever in the Boise area, I have a hangar in Caldwell and you are welcome to park there if in the area. Thank you again for the great videos and info. P.S. I was 23 years old when Mt. St. Helens erupted. I had to wonder at the time if this was the beginning of the end. Seattle was pitch black for days due to the ash in the air. I have since visited by land. It was spectacular.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx for the kind words and I’m glad my videos inspired you to check out those places. I really enjoyed making the Burro Schmidt video. Unfortunately it hasn’t found much traction on KZbin but it is what it is. Sometimes video ideas find me and I just can’t shake the idea so I go out and make them.

[@vincereynolds6092]

Great video. Really enjoyed the beautiful views of today combined with the historic footage. Thank you!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!!

[@Tyrell_Corp2019]

I will never forget this. I lived on the East Coast and was playing catch with my father on the side of our house when suddenly someone said it was snowing. Uh... no. It was ash from St. Helens. Incredible.

[@R.Oates7902]

I remember watching the eruption on TV. I lived in Utah at the time. There wasn't any ash reported. We could go outside safely.. from what I remember. Thanks for the added information and images. Incredible!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!

[@kathleenschaubhut4174]

Thanks for your video. I remember watching the televised reports on the terrible destruction at Mt. St. Helens back in 1980.

[@SaVaGeGmYbEaR]

What a fantastically produced video. Well done my friend, keep up the good work!

[@Wolficorntv]

Thank you very much!

[@cshughes77]

Probably your best video so far / enjoyed the extra history

[@Wolficorntv]

thx! Glad you liked it.

[@tscott6843]

Outstanding video. Extremely professional and pleasant to watch.

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@pappyodanial]

The subject, production value, and especially the Grumman Tiger.... I am so glad to discover this channel.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx for watching! Lately I've been laying low in KZbin-land, but have more content planned.

[@Flugmorph]

that was a beautiful video!

[@SilentKnight43]

Excellent video! Nice blending of the backstory and history with current views. I was 16 when it erupted and remember it well on the news.

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it! It was fun to make.

[@tanypie1321]

Just saw this video today and you did such an amazing job on telling the story and providing excellent views. Bryan, you have such a talent at telling these stories. I hope you are keeping well and we will see some more in the very near future.

[@Wolficorntv]

As always, thanks Tanya! I know lately I've been laying low in KZbin-land but I've got more projects in the works!

[@jonboz7585]

Fascinating and well done video. Thanks.

[@nemospence2724]

Great storytelling. Amazing photos and videos.

[@Wolficorntv]

glad you enjoyed it!!!

[@drmyers56]

In my neck of the woods! I’ve been waiting for some more videos from you. Thanks!

[@Wolficorntv]

I hope it was worth the wait!

[@drmyers56]

@@Wolficorntv hey, excellent job! I live at CLM. We moved into our home the day it blew. I thought the people buying our house were making a lot of noise. I’ll never forget that day. My wife’s family were mountain climbers. She claimed it as a kid. I’ve been wondering about your pup. Mine goes green just getting in the car. I hope you are working that out. Always enjoy your insightful videos! And when I was flying, had my heart set on a Grumman. Your Chanel is win/win for me!

[@TJDawgs72]

I watched it from my front yard in South King County when I was a little boy. I can still remember the mushroom cloud rising into the air. I didn’t realize I was supposed to be scared at the time…lol. Such an amazing sight!

[@J3scribe]

Very cool video, expertly presented. I was 17 when it erupted, and was absolutely fascinated y the unfolding story. The people flying over it that day had a once in a once in a lifetime experience that would be hard to match. Like they were fated to be there to capture the event on film.

[@Wolficorntv]

it would have been a literal once in a lifetime site, that's for sure!

[@EchoesDistant]

I too was not yet alive when she erupted, but spent of a lot of time in my youth with family who lived about 30-40 miles south of the mountain. To this day, the view of the mountain there is unobstructed and impossible to miss. Thanks to that view, the mountain has held my fascination for as long as I can remember. If I could go back in time, I would make sure to watch the eruption from that place. It is far enough away to be safe but close enough to hear and feel the eruption. As for more places to check out, Washington and Oregon are loaded with beauty and wonder. I have to specifically mention Crater Lake in southwestern Oregon, which resides in the caldera of Mt Mazama. It's the deepest freshwater lake in the United States. The beauty of the area both inside the caldera and outside on the slopes and surrounding areas is staggering. Another one is the Columbia River Gorge where it runs between WA and OR as it heads out to the Pacific. Looking west along the Gorge as it runs through the Cascades while the sun sets is breathtakingly beautiful. We are endlessly spoiled here in the Pacific Northwest.

[@Wolficorntv]

the PNW is such an interesting part of the world

[@MrKillerpro007]

This one was awesome man. Please do more of this type of videos.

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!

[@kmari9819]

Excellent video and wonderful production.

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@sloanvanmierlo1618]

Awesome background, awesome flying, love all your videos.

[@Wolficorntv]

thx Sloan

[@shawnrhyme5831]

I was 145 Due East of My Saint Helens in Pasco Washington when I heard the mountain blow her top. That moment is etched in my mind. I didn't know it was the mountain when I heard it. I thought someone lit off some dynamite, and the person with me thought it was thunder, with not a cloud in the sky, yet...

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx for the personal anecdote.

[@localbod]

Thanks for posting this informative video. Whilst the Mt. St. Helen's eruption was devastating over a large area, the death toll was very small compared to that caused by the mudslide that was triggered by an eruption on Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia.

[@Wolficorntv]

Yes...the fatalities could have certainly been much larger had the local government not strictly controlled who got in the red zone.

[@kokosnood]

I was 8 when the eruption happened. There was ash on our picnic table in Goleta (Santa Barbara county). That is a long way! Great video

[@homertalk]

Dude, that kicked ass. Loved every minute. Giant Rock in Landers CA has quite a history to it. A man blew himself up, living under it way back when. There's some stories on KZbin, but I don't think I've seen anything from an ariel perspective.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx! Not familiar with Giant Rock. I'll check it out.

[@flyer16612]

So good. So good. I could watch these all day.

[@Wolficorntv]

please do...I need more views LOLOL

[@tomiasthexder7673]

Fantastic production. Bravo sir

[@feeberizer]

I was able to be a passenger in a small plane that flew over the area as soon as it was allowed. Seeing the condition of the trees in stages from standing dead to completely gone was mind bending. I watched the next eruption in August with my coworkers from Boeing's Kent Space Center. That's not a sight you get used to.

[@Highside713]

I was living in Great Falls, MT at that time. I was just a little kid, but remember the day the ash came. Great video.

[@ericfielding2540]

Great educational and entertaining video about the volcano that the British explorer named Mt St Helens after his friend, as you described. I would have mentioned that the indigenous people called it “Lawetlat'la”.

[@walterblanchard-g7b]

I got stuck in Seattle that day because the mountain blew and Snoqualmie Pass was closed to Eastern WA. Friends in Ellensburg, WA, reported being in church when the ash cloud approached. No one noticed because the windows had been covered for a film. When a member saw it out a window, he was puzzled, then began to warn people that ‘something’ was wrong. People raced for their homes, one friend having to ride back on a motorcycle in the falling ash. The sky turned dark as night and streetlights came on since it was so dark. Upon returning, I found ash everywhere & it continued to be on everything still while out hiking that summer. People saved jars of the ash, while others made pottery out of it. Cory Blanchard

[@vonfange]

as usual enjoyed the video. so cool to be in your front seat as i could never afford to do that on my own! thanks for putting in your time and energy ... its appreciated and enjoyed!

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx Curt. Glad you liked it. With fuel prices what they are...this was def a hit in the wallet to get up there and back.

[@StHelens1980]

My mother was in Montana when Mt St Helens erupted, she recalls the ash fall like snow, I also plan to eventually move to Vancouver WA to study and monitor the Cascade Volcanoes

[@kevdonew1412]

That morning I was 16 washing windows at the restaurant I worked at ,the windows started to vibrate not knowing the volcano blew, it was a wild

[@AVweb]

Great job on this.

[@Wolficorntv]

Appreciate it!

[@inappreciationofcreation1969]

So I wanted to put my own comment here, since I let my kid comment first. Please keep making videos. We homeschool, and my youngest kid has dyslexia so videos are the BEST. We somehow found out about videos made by a company called Awesome Science Media and there is one about Mt St Helens and the trees that compares them to the petrified forest in Yellowstone that was fascinating. And she read the book "I Survived the Eruption of Mt. St. Helens", so your video here was timely and well received! :) You could seriously have a huge homeschool fan base if you continue and keep the videos clean and educational. My daughter wants to know which airport you mainly fly out of? Is it Fullerton? We saw Torrance in the oil spill one.

[@Wolficorntv]

Sounds like your homeschooling is tiring out some bright kids! Thx again for all the kind words. Tell your daughter I fly out of Whiteman airport. If she ever wants to see the plane up close lemme know!

[@inappreciationofcreation1969]

@@Wolficorntv thanks! I will, it's only an hour away from us.

[@gavinehringer4341]

We were doing crevasse rescue training with The Mountaineers on Mt Rainier when St Helens blew. We watched the ash cloud and the ground rumbled steadily, then ash fell like snow. Being north and west of the eruption, we didn't get a lot of ash, but my sister's university shut down (WSU in Eastern Washington, near the Idaho border). It was a surreal day, for sure! I've since been in six more natural disasters that made international news, including two earthquakes (Mexico City and Chile), a tsunami, two catastrophic wildfires in Colorado, and a hurricane in Gavleston, Texas. I'm either a lucky guy, or a disaster magnet!

[@robindepner9168]

My father, a Canadian born in Washington State, visited Mt St Helen after the eruption and brought my son, who was born in Feb 1980, a small jar of the ash back for him.

[@KathleenMcCormickLCSWMPH]

Great video. I camped there in the late 80s and the devastation was still very evident. How about a trip over Ca 395 with a look at the tremendous number of volcanic features there. Maybe a series of videos since there is so much to cover.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx Kathleen. I'd def love to spend some more time close up on the ground. 395 is def packed with lots of history and geology. Good suggestion.

[@themediterraneanguy]

Nice video content , I love the history and the background music

[@Wolficorntv]

thanks! Glad you liked it

[@GMascelli]

Awesome job! Thanks for sharing the rest of the story.

[@Wolficorntv]

Thx! I could have made this 10x longer with all the things I researched about the eruption. The more you dig, you more interesting it becomes.

[@landrecce]

You told that story so well dude! Subscribed!

[@Wolficorntv]

Glad you liked it!! Stay tuned. I have a new one coming soon.

[@landrecce]

@@Wolficorntv right on 💪😎

[@leonmaliniak]

I congratulate you on the quality of your video and for your truly unique premise of FLYING over interesting sites like this. If you are asking for ideas for future flyover sites, I would suggest you explore the caldera in YELLOWSTONE because there is so much vague and contradictory evidence of what is really going on there that it is impossible for the general public to know what is really the risk of an imminent major eruption. Good work.

[@Wolficorntv]

I’m glad you like that format, as I think it’s the kind of stuff that I’m most interested in doing on my channel. I’m just a one man operation so please know it takes time for me to research/plan/execute each video :) The Yellowstone topic is certainly an interesting one that I need to look closer at. One potential issue is FAA rules about flying over national parks. While it can be done (and I’ve done it) altitude restrictions apply. Depending on the kind of shots I would want, it may or may not be an issue.

[@rickwidlund3512]

Fantastic learning video, thank you.

[@kixigvak]

i made plans with a friend in Sandy Oregon to fly around the mountain in his 185 that day. We'd already flown around it quite a bit. We were at Riches Airport preflighting his plane when it blew, so we were up pretty quick. I got good photos and made the cover of Newsweek. And later on Life Magazine as well. Ever since I've been interested in volcanoes. I hope I live long enough to see Mt Hood erupt. I swam across Crater Lake, which was a real experience. You can see down so far that it's terrifying! I'm going to watch the San Andreas Fault video next. Excellent job on this one!

[@Wolficorntv]

Wow James. Very cool. Would love to see the pics you took.

[@cynthiacarter532]

We're 80 miles south of Portland, Oregon on the west edge of the Willamette Valley. During the May eruption we had fine ash clear down our way, I could see it falling out of the sky. Had great cherries from our trees that year, the birds ignored them due to them being covered with ash! Our daughter was born in Portland that July and the volcano became active again. I could actually see the ash plume rising from my hospital room.

[@Wolficorntv]

One of my favorite unexpected results of making this video was all the personal stories in the comments about what everybody was doing that day.

[@fugitivephilo]

Incredibly well done. Thank you.