Man went to visit Mount St. Helens 37 years after the eruption and finds surprising vehicles in remarkable condition
- Mount St. Helens, US, has some surprising vehicles still parked there
- It’s 37 years since the eruption that had the power of an atomic bomb
- The cars are in remarkable condition
Published on Jan 01, 2025 at 4:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 27, 2024 at 2:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
An adventurer and content creator visited Mount St. Helens in the USA and found some surprising cars and vehicles still parked there.
That’s 37 years after the eruption, said to have the power of an atomic bomb.
The seismic event in 1980 had so much force that it forever changed the surrounding landscape.
With that in mind – the cars were in remarkably good condition.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Mount St. Helens
Finally ticking the climb off his bucket list, Chris of Mobile Instinct reached the top of Mt. St Helens and looked down into the massive crater below.
“It was the hardest climb of my life but absolutely worth it,” he shared.
“However, I had no idea of the unbelievable magnitude of destruction the eruption left below the mountain.
“St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980, with such force that it changed the surrounding landscape and destroyed everything in it.”
He added: “Finding all the mangled abandoned trucks still sitting on the county side and walking through the lava tubes was just as incredible as being able to finally climb to the top of the mountain to see it for myself.”
In more recent seismic activity, an active volcano in Antarctica was spewing $6,000 worth of gold dust every day earlier this year.
The cars and vehicles he found
With trees and homes at Mount St. Helens leveled, the landscape around Spirit Lake, Washington, US, was altered forever.
However, amongst the destruction of the remote location, Chris also uncovers buried bulldozers and trucks, some with new vegetation growing through them.
A bulldozer is partially buried in the earth, likely thrown or buried during the eruption’s aftermath.
Despite components like its fuel tanks, cables, and gauges being exposed, the bulldozer is in remarkable condition for its age and the events that happened.
Meanwhile, a logging truck was discovered crushed by massive trees that were blasted through the air by the eruption.
Over time, new vegetation has grown through the truck, including a sizable tree growing out of its back – not unlike this Ford abandoned in the woods for 30 years and reclaimed by nature.
A more isolated vehicle is found further up the mountain that bizarrely appears to be in pristine condition for its age with seemingly unused tires.
It’s a stark visual reminder of the passage of time since the eruption and the force of the blast.
Turning that force into thrust, the Koenigsegg Gemera runs on fuel from a volcano.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
