The Dyatlov Pass Incident

In February 1959, nine experienced hikers died in the Ural Mountains under circumstances that remain unexplained. They cut their way out of their tent in the middle of the night, fled half-dressed into sub-zero temperatures, and scattered across the mountainside. Some died of hypothermia. Others had catastrophic injuries with no external wounds. The Soviet investigation concluded they died from a “compelling natural force.” The Dyatlov Pass incident has spawned countless theories, from avalanche to murder to military testing to the supernatural.

The Expedition

The Group

Nine members:

• Igor Dyatlov (23) - leader, engineering student
• Zinaida Kolmogorova (22)
• Rustem Slobodin (23)
• Yuri Krivonischenko (23)
• Yuri Doroshenko (21)
• Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignolles (23)
• Ludmila Dubinina (20)
• Alexander Kolevatov (24)
• Semyon Zolotaryov (38) - the oldest, a war veteran

Their Experience

All were experienced:

• Students from the Ural Polytechnic Institute
• Experienced in winter camping
• Properly equipped
• In good physical condition
• The route was challenging but within their abilities

The Route

Their journey:

• From Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg)
• To Mount Otorten in the northern Urals
• A Grade III expedition (the most difficult)
• Through remote, uninhabited territory
• In the depths of winter

The Journey

Late January 1959

The group:

• Set out on January 23
• Traveled by train, then truck, then skiing
• One member turned back due to illness (Yuri Yudin - he survived)
• Eight continued
• They made camp on the slope of Kholat Syakhl

The Name

Kholat Syakhl means:

• “Dead Mountain” in the Mansi language
• The indigenous people avoided the area
• An ominous coincidence
• Or perhaps not coincidence at all

The Final Camp

On February 1:

• They set up their tent on the mountain slope
• An unusual location (exposed, steep)
• Perhaps forced by bad weather
• Perhaps a navigation error
• It would be their last camp

What Happened

The Night of February 2

Something occurred:

• The hikers cut through their tent from inside
• They fled into -30°C temperatures
• Many without shoes or proper clothing
• They scattered in different directions
• Nine experienced hikers fled their shelter into certain death

The Mystery

Why would they:

• Destroy their own tent?
• Leave without clothes?
• Split up?
• Make no attempt to return?
• Choose exposure over shelter?

The Discovery

Search Begins

When they missed their return date:

• Search parties were organized
• The tent was found on February 26
• Collapsed and partially covered in snow
• Cut from the inside

Finding the Bodies

Over the following months:

• February 26: Tent found
• February 27: First two bodies (Doroshenko, Krivonischenko) - by a cedar tree, near a fire
• March 5: Dyatlov’s body, 300m from the tent
• March 5: Kolmogorova’s body, 630m from the tent
• March 5: Slobodin’s body, 480m from the tent
• May 4: The last four bodies found in a ravine under 4m of snow

The Scene

Evidence showed:

• Attempts to climb the cedar tree (broken branches up to 5m)
• A small fire that burned out
• Bodies between tent and forest
• Some had clothing from others (cut from dead companions)
• Signs of desperate survival attempts

The Bodies

First Five Found

Doroshenko and Krivonischenko:

• Found at the cedar tree
• Nearly naked
• Died of hypothermia
• Hands burned from the fire

Dyatlov, Kolmogorova, Slobodin:

• Found between tent and cedar
• Attempting to return to tent
• Slobodin had a skull fracture (survivable, possibly from a fall)
• Died of hypothermia

The Ravine Four

Found in May:

• Better clothed (wearing items from the others)
• In a den they had dug in the snow
• With catastrophic injuries

Dubinina:

• Major chest trauma
• Multiple broken ribs
• Missing tongue, eyes, part of lips
• The injuries occurred before death

Zolotaryov:

• Crushed ribs
• Similar to Dubinina

Thibeaux-Brignolles:

• Major skull damage
• Would have caused death

Kolevatov:

• Less severe injuries
• Probably died of hypothermia

The Injuries

The ravine four’s injuries:

• Were comparable to car crash trauma
• But with no external wounds
• No soft tissue damage visible
• As if crushed by tremendous force
• From the inside

The Investigation

Soviet Inquiry

The investigation found:

• No evidence of foul play
• No evidence of natural disaster
• No tracks other than the hikers
• Radioactive contamination on some clothing (later explained by Krivonischenko’s workplace)
• No explanation

The Conclusion

The official verdict:

• “A compelling natural force”
• Caused their deaths
• The case was closed
• Files were classified
• For decades, questions were forbidden

Theories

Avalanche

The Theory

• A small avalanche hit the tent
• The group fled in panic
• They couldn’t return in the dark
• They died of exposure

Support

• Could explain panic and injuries
• Snow did cover the tent
• The slope was somewhat prone to slides

Problems

• No avalanche debris was found
• The tent wasn’t buried
• Experienced hikers would recognize an avalanche
• The injuries don’t fully match

Katabatic Wind

The Theory

• Sudden severe wind struck the camp
• Created terror and confusion
• They fled to escape
• The cold killed them

Support

• Can occur suddenly in mountains
• Can be disorienting and dangerous
• Might explain desperate flight

Military Testing

The Theory

• Secret Soviet military exercises
• Weapons testing in the area
• The hikers witnessed something
• Were killed or driven away

Support

• Strange orange spheres were reported in the sky
• The radiation on clothing
• The Soviet cover-up
• The area was remote but near testing grounds

Infrasound

The Theory

• Wind passing through the terrain created infrasound
• This caused panic and irrational behavior
• They fled in a state of terror
• Environmental phenomenon

Mansi Attack

The Theory

• Indigenous Mansi people attacked them
• For trespassing on sacred land
• The investigation covered it up

Problems

• No evidence of other people
• The Mansi had no known conflicts with hikers
• The injuries don’t suggest weapons

Paradoxical Undressing

The Theory

• Hypothermia causes victims to feel hot
• They removed their clothing
• Standard hypothermia behavior
• Explains the undressing but not the flight

Something Unknown

The Theory

• Something terrified them enough to flee
• Something unexplained or supernatural
• The injuries suggest unknown force
• We may never understand

Recent Developments

2020 Russian Investigation

A new investigation concluded:

• An avalanche was responsible
• A delayed “slab avalanche”
• Hit hours after camp was made
• Explains the sudden flight

Skepticism

Many researchers:

• Question the avalanche finding
• Note the same problems as before
• Believe it’s a convenient closure
• The mystery persists

The Question

Nine experienced hikers pitched their tent on a Russian mountainside.

Something happened in the night.

They slashed open their tent and fled into deadly cold. Some without shoes. Some without clothes.

They didn’t return to their shelter. They scattered. They died.

Some from cold. Some from injuries no fall could explain.

And sixty years later, we don’t know why.

Was it an avalanche? A military secret? A supernatural terror? A natural phenomenon we don’t understand?

The Soviet Union closed the case with three words: “compelling natural force.”

What force?

The mountain keeps its secret. Dead Mountain, the Mansi called it. They knew to stay away.

Nine people didn’t.

And something on that mountain killed them in a way that still defies explanation.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident. Nine deaths. Countless theories. No answers.

Just footprints leading away from a shattered tent.

Into the snow.

Into the dark.

Into silence.