Doorway to Hell: Adventurous Explorer and Storm Chaser Gives Awe-Inspiring Talk at Trent Durham
Professional explorer George Kourounis details his captivating career with spectacular photos and footage
“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
This is the mantra that explorer, adventurer and storm chaser George Kourounis lives by as he travels around the globe, documenting nature’s worst weather conditions and earth’s most extreme natural phenomena.
In a special talk he gave at Trent University Durham-GTA on November 30, Mr. Kourounis presented incredible photos and footage of his life’s work as a storm chaser. Repelling an active volcano to a churning lava lake’s edge, documenting the eye of the storm during Hurricane Katrina, and negotiating the unsteady terrain of Mexico’s Naica crystal cave, home to the largest crystals in the world are only a few of the thrill-seeker’s adventurous tales in a 20-year career that has taken him around the globe.
“As a child, I idolized the explorer Jacques Cousteau and the infamous character Indiana Jones and so those influences really shaped my interest in adventuring and exploration,” he told the crowd.
When asked by an audience member why he chronicles such dangerous weather conditions and risky natural environments he replied, “I’ve realized that my purpose in life is to documents extreme cases of weather so that it can be used as precaution for those who refuse to evacuate.” He went on to explain that his research helps to extrapolate Earth’s most hazardous climate activities and phenomena.
His most risky adventure to date has taken him all the way to Turkmenistan where he traversed a flaming crater that was 400 degrees Celsius, commonly known as the ‘doorway to hell.’ Spending only seventeen minutes in the blazing hot, methane-rich environment, he recorded the temperature and collected soil and rock samples as part of a research project in collaboration with National Geographic in search of microbial life-forms living in extreme heat. Standing at the edge of the crater, preparing to descend, he recalled thinking, “What am I doing,” which promoted a laugh from his captivated audience.
After the presentation, students and community members lined up for the chance to chat with Mr. Kourounis one-on-one, take pictures with him and thank him for sharing his passion. One eager student asked for a picture with him, remarking, “You are the most interesting person I’ve ever met,” to which he humbly replied, “Well, thanks – For me, I figured out the “what” in life early on, and I continue to work hard to accomplish the “how.””