For a field trip that was planned six months in advance, the timing couldn’t have been better for University College of the Fraser Valley geography students on Friday, October 1.

Geography professors Sandy Vanderburgh, Steven Marsh, and Claire Beaney had taken a group of 16 students on a four-day camping field trip around Mount St. Helens that coincidentally coincided with Friday’s eruption, turning the expedition into the field trip of a lifetime for all involved. 

“It was absolutely amazing,” said student Sarah Gillespie of Chilliwack. “We were just arriving at the Johnston lookout when it happened, definitely a big surprise for us.”  

“It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before,” added student Nicole Strain of Langley. “It really got me excited and interested about volcanoes. It’s definitely good advertising for any type of study tour!” 

Both women were young children when Mount St. Helens blew its top big time in 1980 and Gillespie remembers hearing the bang. The fact that it took 24 years for another major event and that they were there to witness it drove home just how fortunate their field trip timing was. 

The geography majors even said it inspired them to want to study the discipline further and perhaps teach it at the college level so they could do more field research. 

Even for the professors, it was the trip of a lifetime.  

The group at the Johnston viewpoint

Student being interviewed by American media.

“I feel great about seeing it,” said Dr. Sandy Vanderburgh, UCFV Geography department head. “It was on my life-list of things to see as an earth scientist but there are no guarantees. It could not have worked out better for us. It was a safe environment, there wasn’t a huge crowd yet, and it was a beautiful day. As a geographer, it was quite an emotional moment. It’s something you might not ever get to see in a lifetime, and it was fascinating.” 

“It was just a blast,” said professor Claire Beaney. “An event of a career: I’ll never see anything like that again. To have planned a trip for months and then have an eruption just as we arrived was fantastic. You always read about them but never expect to see them.” 

“It was great to be there before it turned into a zoo,” added professor Steve Marsh. “There were around 150 people at the viewing point the day it erupted, and by the next day there were 2,500.” 

The UCFV class was the largest educational group at the viewpoint last Friday and they turned into instant media celebrities, interviewed by Fox TV and KIRO 7 of Seattle, with the video clip picked up by CBC in Canada. Several American newspapers also quoted them.