Spectacular footage records the formation of new second cone on highest active volcano in Eurasia

The side cone eruption followed a halt in activity in the main cone on the volcano - also known as Klyuchevskoy - on 8 February. On 6 March, the extreme travellers - Boris Smirnov, Alexey Kulaev, Artem Gromov and Pavel Gavrilov - climbed to examine the new formation.

‘It took us eight to nine hours to reach the eruption site,' said Smirnov. ‘We set up our tent on the Erman glacier. 

‘The whole time that we were there it was very cold - the thermometer in the morning showed minus 47C degrees.’

Daredavil travellers record the 'birth' of a new cone on side of the Klyuchevskaya Volcano at the Kamchatka peninsula. Picture: Artem Gromov, Boris Smirnov, Alexey Kulayev

They filmed the eruption of the new cone from remarkably close range over two days, 7 and 8 March. 

The intrepid explorers tried to raise a drone but it was too cold and only worked for two minutes in this hostile environment. A ‘volcanic bomb’ almost hit it. 

‘Of course, this is a stunning sight - flowing lava glowing at night, hot stones flying from the cone, puffs of steam, something is constantly moving on the cone,’ he said. 

‘We complemented our impressions by sausages fried on lava.’ 

Picture and video below by Boris Smirnov

The lava breakthrough is in two parallel cracks spaced about 250 metres (402ft) apart. 

The height of the cinder cone at its source  has now reached almost 60 metres (97ft) in height, with a base diameter of 101 metres (163ft). 

The Russian team returned to Klyuchi village - from where they had started their ascent - on 9 March.

The route is treacherous and both volcanologists and rescuers warn that approaching Klyuchevskoy - and especially the new side cone - is life-threatening. 

The route passes across Erman Glacier which is dotted with deep cracks masked by snow.

Daredavil travellers record the 'birth' of a new cone on side of the Klyuchevskaya Volcano at the Kamchatka peninsula. Picture: Picture: Artem Gromov, Boris Smirnov, Alexey Kulayev

The latest eruption of the volcano - in Russia’s spectacular Kamchatka region nudging the Pacific -  may erode the road between the villages of Klyuchi and Kozyrevsk, as well as disrupt the ecological balance of nearby rivers, said the Director of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexey Ozerov.

It threatens to wash away part of a glacier. 

Night-time video of the Klyuchevskaya volcano eruption at the Kamchatka peninsula. Video: Artem Gromov, Boris Smirnov, Alexey Kulayev

Ozerov told Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov: “Currently, we are considering two scenarios. 

‘According to one of them, the lava flow from the eruption runs parallel to the Erman Glacier, without crossing it. 

‘In this case, the mud-stone flow passes several kilometres from the village of Klyuchi through agricultural fields. 

‘The second option is that due to the high temperature the lava crosses Erman glacier. 

‘At an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,843ft), it is heated by more than 1,000 degrees. 

‘In this scenario, a stream of highly heated water with large fragments of rock is formed, which, when descending from a height, can wash out the Kozyrevsk-Klyuchi road.’

Spectacular footage records the formation of new second cone on highest active volcano in Eurasia. Video: Artem Gromov, Boris Smirnov, Alexey Kulayev

The 4,750 metre (15,584ft) stratovolcano is the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the highest active volcano in Eurasia.

Klyuchevskaya Sopka was formed some  6,000 years ago and its first recorded eruption was in 1697. 

It is Russia’s most dangerous volcano and lies some 6,800 km (4,225 miles) east of capital city Moscow.