Kliuchevskaya Sopka, Kamchatka. Our expedition consisted of Richard Wojtaszaewki, Alyson Starling, Huw Davies and me. After an ascent of Avacha (2900 meters) near Petro-Pavlovsk and a failure due to high winds on Koryaksky volcano (3200 meters), we traveled north to the Kliuchevskaya group. After four days of bad weather, we started from the Padkovo Volcanology Base on August 1 and spent two nights at Camp I at 2600 meters before moving on to Camp II on the ice plateau at 2720 meters. That same day, August 3, we British members, accompanied by Artur Bilichenko, Tanya Kadomseva and Slava Muraviev, made the ascent of Ushkovsky (Plosky Dalny; 3900 meters, 12,795 feet). After a violent storm at Camp III at 3300 meters on the col between Kliuchevskaya and Kamen, on August 3, Davies and I, with Bilichenko, Kadomtseva, Muraviev and Viktor Vavilionok, climbed Kliuchevskaya (4750 meters, 15,584 feet). On October 1, this highly active volcano erupted with the greatest violence in 50 years, throwing material to an elevation of 65,000 feet.

John Town, Alpine Club