With that impressive blaze behind you,
this photo will get some followers.
The feed goes live from the crater's edge
when your foot slips.
Brace for impact and make your peace.
Shrouded in lost paperwork
and eternal flames,
the Darvaza crater is a monument
to miscalculations and nature's fury.
Located in central Turkmenistan,
a massive sinkhole formed
when an alleged Soviet oil drilling project
hit a gas cavern in 1971.
To stop the poisonous methane gas
from escaping further,
scientists set fire to the crater,
estimating the flames would die down
after a few weeks.
Fifty years later,
the fire still rages,
an attraction known to locals and tourists
as the Door to Hell.
But if you slipped into the crater,
In November 2013,
geologist and adventurer George Kourounis
became the first human
to journey deep into the Door to Hell.
Wearing a custom Kevlar suit
designed to resist fire and reflect heat,
he rappelled into the flaming void,
touching the floor of the crater
and living to tell about it.
This scientist commissioned
the special equipment he needed to survive.
Follow these steps
and you might get through
this hell on Earth.
With a drop-off of almost eight stories high,
or about 102 feet,
falling off the edge
of this fenceless crater could be fatal.
According to a 2011 report,
people who fall from over 30 m (99 ft)
die 100% of the time.
But if you try this modified
parachuting technique developed
by the United States Army,
your chances of surviving
such an impact increase.
Cover your head,
then bring your knees and feet together.
Bend your knees slightly
and point the balls of your feet downward.
Focus to the horizon,
not the ground.
As you hit the crater floor,
tightly wrap your arms around your body,
hugging your elbows close
and land on your side.
You might redistribute your weight enough
from the impact so you walk away
instead of crawl.
When three filmmakers crashed
into the Kilauea Volcano in 1992,
the survivors were stuck along
a steep rock wall that crumbled
as they attempted to escape.
Trapped in this hellscape for over 24 hours,
the crew went without food or sleep
until they were eventually
evacuated one by one.
By keeping calm
and waiting for the rescue team to appear,
this group barely managed to survive.
But the Darvaza crater
is a human engineered disaster
attracting extreme tourists
from all around the world.
Chances are you'll never be completely alone.
If you find yourself at the bottom
of this crater,
keep your composure
and grab the attention of people
above to contact the proper authorities.
While a T-shirt and shorts
seem practical at the surface,
in this furnace, exposed skin could kill you.
Kourounis measured the temperature
beneath his feet at 4,000 °C (7,200 °F).
This heat will dehydrate
your skin into leather.
Keep your skin covered
in protective gear and wear a mask
with goggles to shield your face
and eyes from any floating particles.
Long before you burn,
it's more likely that you'll choke out
from the noxious fumes.
With all the char and hot air
coming in through every breath,
your lungs will roast from the inside out.
Find the coolest areas possible
before these deadly contaminants
cut off your oxygen completely.
Mountain climbers train for years
before facing cliffs this steep.
That's time you don't have.
But if you employ
their experienced techniques,
you might be able to hoist yourself
back to the top.
Keep your arms straight
to allow your bones to take the weight,
otherwise your muscles will tire quickly
and give out.
Push your hip against the wall
as you grab the overhanging rock.
Look for handholds
that will allow you to rest for a moment.
Giving your body the time
it needs to recoup could be the difference
between coming home or falling back down.
With the ability to shift
your weight at this angle,
you might be the second person in history
to climb out of this pit alive.
You've kept your calm
and your arms straight,
and now the door to hell slams behind you.
But the winds rise up
and wrap around the licking flames.
As this fiery column gains speed,
how will you survive this fire tornado?
It's not time to cool down yet.
Get the answer on the next, How to Survive.