Mount Etna towers above Catania on the island of Sicily in Italy, reaching 11,014 feet into the sky. It has one of the longest documented records of volcanism in the world, with records dating back to 1500 BCE. Lava flows have stretched down to the foot of the volcano and even reached the sea below, with the magma generally extruding between 1080°C (1976°F) and 1125°C (2057°F).
On February 8, 2025, Etna began showing signs of unrest above its background level, followed by fiery explosions, plumes of ash clouds, and long, eye catching lava flows. Along with the eruption came the eyes of tourists, hikers, and, unbelievably, skiers. Josh Turner and Davide Tomasello skinned their way up the volcano, capturing some of the most incredible footage while descending on skis.
Unfortunately the eruption came with plenty of poor behavior from tourists, and Sicily’s head of regional civil protection, Salvo Cocina, was forced to warn of a dangerous situation on the volcano caused by people parking their cars along narrow streets blocking rescue vehicles. The sight of people skiing and snowboarding on the snow nearby the flow spurred warnings from the mayor of nearby Belpasso, Carlo Caputo, as well.
