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The Dyatlov Pass Incident

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The Rabbit Hole

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In the late winter of 1959, nine experienced Russian hikers set off on an expedition into the Ural Mountains from which they would never return. Search parties discovered a curious scene. The hiker's camp sight was orderly, as if at any moment they might return as unexpectedly as they had left. The tent was in relatively good condition, save for a few cuts to the rear wall. It only grew more confounding when they began to find bodies a mile away, in states of near undress and almost uniformly without shoes. The mystery deepens further when the last bodies are discovered months later. Unlike the other six, who died of hypothermia, and despite showing no sign of external injury, it is determined that three hikers died as a result of blunt force trauma equivalent to a serious car accident. The official explanation of the investigation was a "compelling unknown force."

For almost 60 years the question remains, what caused these people to rush out into the freezing winter night, towards what they had to know was their certain doom? We may never know. One thing is certain, though. The cuts on the side of the tent was a result of someone trying to get out.

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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The Hikers

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Igor Dyatlov, 23 - The leader of the group, and later namesake for the mountain upon which they perished, was student of radio engineering at Ural Polytechnical Institute (UPI). He had a finely tuned scientific mind and enjoyed building shortwave radios, even though they were banned at the time in the Soviet Union. He was artistic as well, with a passion for photography. But his true love was the outdoors, and he quickly became the star of UPI's large hiking club. Physically lean and strong, he was respected for his technical know how, the care with which he planned expeditions, and his capability under pressure. One story recalls a hiking trip when the group suddenly found themselves directly in the path of stampeding wild horses. Dyatlov coolly directed the others to stand together in a tight group. To their amazement it worked, the stampede passed around them as river goes around a boulder. He was a born leader, and his peers viewed him as an adventurer of the highest magnitude.

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Zinaida Kolmogorova "Zina," 22 - Like Dyatlov, also a radio engineering student. A pretty tomboy who possessed a sharp wit and was renowned as an engaging raconteur. Lively and bright, she drew admiration everywhere she went, including crushes from some of her companions.

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Lyudmila Dubinina "Lyuda," 20 - A student of construction-industry economics, her friends viewed her as a highly principled, fervent communist. Serious, strong, and outspoken; she had proved herself capable of enduring great pain and hardship when on a previous expedition she'd been accidentally shot. Though she had to be carried out through 50 miles of rugged terrain, it was she who kept the groups spirits up during the ordeal.

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Yuri Yudin, 22 - A geology student at the time, Yudin would be the lone survivor. Plagued all his life with rheumatism, a heart condition, and knee and back pain, hiking helped to restore his vitality. His chronic conditions would get the better of him on this trip, however, and he would turn back at the last outpost of civilization on the journey.

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Yuri Doroshenko, 21 - A radio engineering student with Dyatlov and Zina. He was brave but often impulsive. On one trip he famously chased or a bear with nothing but a geologists hammer.

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Yuri Krivonishinko "Georgy," 24 - Student of construction and hydraulics at UPI. A jokester, whose big personality and talent for storytelling was rivaled only by Zina within the group. He was a musician, his mandolin would be the group's most prized possession on their long journey.

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Alexander Kolevatov, 25 - A student of nuclear physics who loved to smoke a pipe. Methodical and physically imposing, Kolevatov was an intensely private person who alone among the group would refuse to share the entry of his diary with the other hikers.

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Rustem Slobodin "Rustik," 23 - Born to an affluent family of professors, Rustik was a graduate of UPI with a degree in mechanical engineering. Friendly and unpretentious, he was a gifted musician and often led the group in song playing the mandolin.

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Nikolay Thibault-Brignols "Kolya," 25 - The great-grandson of a French immigrant had by 1959 already graduated with a degree in Civil Construction. He was described as serious and exceedingly well read.

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Semen "Alexander" Zolotaryov, 37 - Known to the group as "Sasha." Zolotaryov was an outsider to the group who joined the group as they were departing on their trip. He was aquatinted with Dyatlov and joined up after his original hiking party fell through. In addition to being older, Sasha had good teeth and tattoos, which was uncommon in Soviet Russia. He was a combat veteran in World War 2. Despite his status as a newcomer, Sasha fit in well with group, sharing their love of music and poetry as well as the outdoors.

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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The Expedition

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Masters of Sport

The trip was always meant to be difficult and dangerous. The hikers were attempting to attain a Class III certification, the highest possible, giving them the title Masters of Sport. In addition to the prestige brought on by the achievement, it would also certify them as qualified to teach others in the arts of orienteering and mountaineering. To achieve it, the Grade II hikers would need to complete a journey that covered at least 186 miles (300 kilometers) of ground, with a third of those miles in challenging terrain. The minimum duration of the trip was to be sixteen days, with no fewer than eight of those spent in uninhabited regions, and at least six nights spent in a tent.

To prove the veracity of their achievement, the hikers kept a detailed diary of their travels. They also took pictures documenting their trip, photos that portrayed them following official hiking guidelines and procedures. In my experience, this high level of documentation is often rare in stories like this. It adds to the mystery, and greatly adds to the tragedy.

The majority of the photographs are not taken with the purpose of documenting the excursion. Instead they depict young people in the prime of their life enjoying each other's company. They are on one of the great adventures of their lives and their sense of joy and comradery is plainly evident. These were young people testing themselves, true, but it wasn't all business. Their generation was a product of the death of Stalin, and the cultural thaw that followed in the Soviet Union. Unlike previous generations, they had more freedom to move about and explore. And as they did so, they did what young people anywhere always do. They had fun, told jokes, teased each other. They discussed their lives and their hopes for their future. Particularly, they enjoyed playing music and singing together. At night they would recite poetry they had composed during the day, discuss philosophy and the meaning of love, and occasionally got into heated arguments with each other. These were hardy, experienced, talented outdoorsmen. But they were normal people as well, people who did not deserve what happened to them.

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From Home to the Edge of Civilization

The group set out from UPI in Yekaterinburg on January 23rd, 1959 with their ultimate destination being the summit of Otorten Mountian in the Ural Mountains. They traveled by train to their stopover in the steel town of Serov. The officials at the train station refused to let them sleep in the building, so the group went into town to find a place to rest. They came upon a schoolhouse where the headmaster agreed to let them rest as long as they spoke to the childeren about hiking. They made a huge impression on the children. The kids especially liked Sasha, who led them in singing folk songs, and they fell completely for Zina, asking her tearfully to stay and be their Pioneer (Scouts) leader. The childeren did not want the group to leave. When news of the group's disappearance reached the schoolhouse, unanswered letters from the childeren flooded UPI's officials asking "what happened to our friends," "where is Zina?"

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From there the group traveled by train to the gulag town Ivdel, though they did not see any forced laborers in their stay. A bus took them next to the last town on the trip Vizhay. They then had a long, cold ride in the flatbed of a Gaz 63 truck to a woodcutters camp called sector 41, where they spent a night singing and dancing with the workers.

From There to Eternity

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A sled-driving laborer offered to haul their packs while they skied to the next stop, an abandoned geological site. It was here that Yudin's physical ailments proved to be too much. His body aching, with the most daunting part of the journey about to begin, he bid his friends goodbye and turned back. He would not proceed directly back to UPI, instead spending the rest of his winter break at home. The search for his friends would be underway by the time he found out they were missing.

On the 28th they were off into the wilderness, skiing alongside rivers and up Mansi hunting trails. Mornings they would eat breakfast while writing in their diaries before packing up camp and heading out. In the evening, when they had gone as far as was prudent, they would begin the routine of setting up camp. The skis would be laid together as a floor while the tent would be put around them. When that was near finished, two would enter the tent to lay the unpacked backpacks on top of the skis and cover them with blankets for increased insulation. Others would then enter, removing their boots, to begin organizing the belongings, patching any holes in the tent, and undertaking the hour long process of setting up the stove. Once finished everyone would eat dinner and then wash their feet regardless of how cold the water they had was, Dyatlov's rules.

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The final day, February 1st, began differently. They spent much of the day cacheing any unnecessary supplies, including the beloved mandolin, in advance of the last dash towards Otorten Mountain. They resumed their journey until near nightfall, when they made camp high on a ridge above the tree line below the summit of Kholat Syakhl. In the language of the local Mansi tribe Kholat Syakhl means "Dead Mountain."

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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The Search and Investigation

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Hope of Rescue

There was little concern at UPI when the group did not return on February 13th as scheduled. Difficult hiking trips were often delayed by any number of reasons and the ability of the hikers was well known. But in the days following the families were not so patient. They began urging authorities to take action and were rebuffed. There was no cause for concern yet, they were told, and besides, the hiking club's president was himself not yet returned from his outing to give details of the Dyatlov group's proposed route. But as the days crept on towards a week it became clear action would need to be taken. The first groups out were fellow students and teachers in the hiking club who flew to Vizhay in hopes of retracing the group's path. Soon after, the army and police, as well as volunteers from the local villages and members of the Mansi tribe; added their strength to the search. Government authorities also authorized a prosecutor in Ivdel to oversee the investigation.

On February 26th the tent is found by two student searchers, one of which grabs a pick axe and hacks an opening in the side of the tent. The tent partially collapsed due to snow but containing no bodies, their hopes of finding survivors swell, despite the fact that many pairs of boots are found in the tent. They grab some items from the tent and return to the rest of the group. They radio authorities the news and are instructed to lay out a base camp for 50 searchers near the tent, and to leave the scene undisturbed (whoops).

The Obvious Question

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The campsite is pored over and rummaged through by overzealous police. No tracks are found in the immediate site, but down the slope where the ground flattens tracks are found. Meanwhile, a mile away down in the valley, two students searching for an adequate location for the search party's base camp notice something strange. Under a large cedar tree lies the remains of what appears to be a fire pit. And then they notice an elbow sticking out of the snow. When the rest of the party arrives, the bodies of Georgy and Doroshenko are uncovered. While fanning out from the area, a police dog discovered the bodies of Dyatlov and Zina between the cedar tree and the tent.

Reports sent to authorities at Ivdel speculated that fierce winds blew hikers down the hill. The glaring deficiency in this logic, that people were blown away but not their belongings, along with the discovery of bodies led the authorities to seek a more powerful prosecutor to handle the case. On March 1st, Lev Ivanov assumed charge of the investigation.

While the search for the other five bodies continued, Ivanov began pursuing angles as to what caused the tragedy. Fingers were pointed at the Mansi people native to the area. Though after hearing testimonials Ivanov quickly dismissed the notion. Other theories are postulated among the searchers. Police speak of escaped convicts from a gulag. A radiogram is sent to Ivdel inquiring whether any rocket launches had occurred that night. One student reports that his hiking band had seen a strange light in the sky on February 17 elsewhere in the Urals.

Early March brought more discoveries. Rustic's body was found, and though it was determined he died of hypothermia like the others he had sustained serious head injuries. A taylor brought in to examine the rips in the tent confirmed something that Ivanov had suspected, three of the tears to the tarpaulin were not tears at all, they were cuts. Initially this pointed to someone cutting their way in. But an expert determined soon afterward that it was the result of someone trying to cut their way out.

"We Could Not Recognize Him When He Returned"

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The families of the found hikers had trouble with Soviet authorities trying to organize funerals for their kids. The officials didn't want to make any more of a scene. Finally they relented, on the condition that the services had to be split and held on different days.

Ivanov continued his investigation, bringing in numerous witnesses that testified to seeing Orbs in the sky during February in the direction of Otorten Mountain. It was then, in mid march, that he was called away back to Moscow. He returned a different man, no longer pursing any angles that hinted at murder or things in the sky. In 1990 following Gorbachev's glasnost, Ivanov penned a letter of apology to the families saying, among other things, he had been instructed by the Communist Party not to pursue any angles pertaining to strange lights in the sky.

Before the Radiation Tests Came Back

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It was not until early May that the last four bodies were found deep in the snow of a ravine not far from the cedar tree. The bodies of Sasha, Kolevatov, Kolya, and Lyuda were dug up and transported for their autopsy. However, there was trouble getting these last four bodies off the mountain. The pilot of the military helicopter tasked with flying them out refused to do so unless they were transported in zinc-lined caskets. On this he stood firm and the authorities gave way. The zinc is meant to protect against possible exposure to biological agents.

Kolevatov was found to have died of hypothermia like the other five. The last three were a different story. Each had suffered from grievous internal injuries, broken ribs, a crushed skull, Lyuda's tongue was missing. It was determined these last three had died violent deaths.The autopsy also revealed their internal organs to test positive for small amounts of radiation, although this was written off. What wasn't written off was their clothes, which testing showed high levels of radiation. Ivanov sent the clothing off for more testing.

Before the results came back however, Ivanov bowed to internal pressure. On May 26, four days after the last funeral, the criminal investigation was closed. The official explanation was that the hikers had died due to an "unknown compelling force."

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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The Crime Scene

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(Warning: I won't be posting the photos here as they are not safe for work. But the gnarly corpse photos are widely available and a few are full on nightmare fuel.)

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The Tent

The tent was found on the northeastern slope 300 meters from the summit of the mounatain. Partially collapsed and thinly covered with snow, the tent stretched across polls and was fixed with ropes. Inside were found personal items, pants, jackets, fur coats, hats, skin caps, socks, 2 axes, 1 hatchet, tools and utensils, provisions, notebooks, cameras, 3 pairs of boots, and 9 pairs of shoes. The stove was unassembled. At the time of their departure the layout of items appears fairly organized with the exception of the pile of shoes, this haphazard piling was not typical of a Dyatlov camp. Ham in a cloth handkerchief indicates they were either about to eat, still eating dinner, or had not yet finished cleaning up afterward.

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The cuts to the side of the tent were man made. This was determined by examining the separation of the threading in the tarpaulin. Tears follow the line of least resistance and do not damage both lattices of thread. Cuts damage both, and closer inspection revealed that the damage indicated the cuts were made from inside the tent.

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Outside the entrance of the tent was a pickaxe and Dyatlov's jacket. On top of the tent was a flashlight. Wind and fresh fallen snow had covered up any footprints in the tent area. Only down the slope were footprints leading away from the tent discovered, and the effort was poor at cataloging precisely how many distinct tracks there were before search parties made it impossible.

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The Cedar Tree

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The bodies of Georgy and Doroshenko were found under a large cedar tree. Evidence of a moderate sized fire was found nearby. Broken branches up to 15 feet up the tree indicate someone climbed the tree; either to get firewood, to try and get a view of the tent, or to hide. Strangest of all is there was gathered sticks and twigs by the fire pit that went unused. Unused! They froze to death! The two bodies were laid down side by side but Doroshenko's body position does not match the livor mortis in his back, indicating postmortem manipulations. Clothes show sign of being cut away.

Yuri Doroshenko - Clothing: Sleeveless shirt, checkered t-shirt, swimming trunks,  cotton long underwear with rips in them, mismatched wool socks, no shoes. Injuries: Cuts to the right shoulder and left forearm. Abrasions to right shoulder, right palm, left shoulder, and left elbow. Blood on ear, nose, lips and left forearm. Bruises on right armpit, right forearm, back of right hand, and both shins. Swollen upper lip. Miscellaneous: Right cheek covered with gray foam. Gray liquid coming out of his mouth. Pine needles and moss in hair. Burned hair on right side of head. 150 cc's of urine, less volume than expected in hypothermia victim. Cause of Death: Hypothermia.

Georgy Krivonishenko - Clothing: Undershirt, long sleeved shirt, swimming trunks, long underwear, torn left sock, and no shoes. Injuries: Tip of nose missing, no blood. Cuts on back of left hand, left hip, wound with jagged edges to right palm. Abrasion to right hand fingertips, right side of chest, left wrist, right femur and tibia, and left thigh. Bruises on forehead, left temporal, and left buttock. Diffuse bleeding to right temporal. Burns on left foot. Miscellaneous: Skin from right palm would found in mouth. Cause of death: Hypothermia.

Up the hill, back towards the tent.

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These three were found between the cedar tree and the tent. They appear to have been make a last effort to return to the tent when they fell.

Igor Dyatlov - Clothing: Unbuttoned sleeveless vest given to Doroshenko by Yudin when he left the expedition, sweater, long sleeved shirt, sleeveless cotton singlet, ski pants over pants, cotton sock on left foot, wool sock on right, wrist watch, and no shoes. Injuries: Cut to the right shin, scratches to right palm and forearm, left palm and fingers. Abrasions to forehead, upper eyelids, left eyebrow, both cheeks, and both ankles, Bruises to both knees, finger joints on right hand, and left hand. Dried blood on lips. Miscellaneous: Found clutching miniature birch tree struggling to keep himself from falling. Cause of death: Hypothermia.

Zina Kolmogorova - Clothing: Two hats, long sleeved undershirt, sweater, checkered shirt, another sweater, cotton sport pants, trousers, ski pants, three pairs of socks, and no footwear. Injuries: Scrapes to her knuckle and the bridge of her nose. Abrasions to forehead, upper eyelids, left cheekbone, back of both hands. Bruised right cheek, and a long, bright, thin bruise to her lower right back in kidney area. Cause of death: Hypothermia.

Rustic Slobodin - Clothing: Long sleeved undershirt, shirt, sweater, 2 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of socks, and 1 felt boot on his right foot. Injuries: Factured frontal bone of the skull. Hemorrhages to both temples. Two scratches to the forehead, and one on the right forearm. Bloody nose. Abrasions to the forehead. Many abrasions and lots of swelling to both sides of the face, swollen lips. Bruises to upper right eyelid with hemorrhage beneath, knuckles, left arm, left palm, and left shin. Miscellaneous: Body found on a bed of icy snow, this means the body was still relatively warm when it came to rest. Cause of death: Hypothermia.

The Den and the Ravine

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The last four bodies were found 3 months after the incident. A Mansi native assisting with the search notices a series of cut branches which seemed to form a trail some 50 meters away from the cedar tree. At the end of the trail was a pile of discarded clothes. They found the bodies by thrusting poles into the snow in a nearby ravine, previously this had failed as the snow was too deep. While digging out the bodies, they discovered a nearby improvised shelter out of the wind with a floor of cedar branches that would help to insulate the hikers from the snowy floor. None of the bodies were found in the shelter, but deeper into slushy ravine.

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Alexander Kolevatov - Clothing: Sleeveless shirt, long sleeved shirt, sweater, fleece sweater, ski jacket with a burnt left sleeve, shorts, light pants, ski pants, canvas pants, woolen socks damaged by fire, light sock on right foot, 3 lights socks on left foot, and no shoes. Injuries: Broken nose, wound behind the ear, and a "deformed neck." Miscellaneous: Soft tissue around the eyes missing, skull bones exposed. Maceration of the fingers and feet. Waistband of sweater and lower part of the pants later test radioactive. Cause of death: Hypothermia.

Sasha Zolotaryov - Clothing: 2 hats, scarf, short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, black sweater, coat, underwear, 2 pairs of pants, skiing pants pair of socks, and pair of warm leather shoes. Injuries: Wound to the right side of skull with exposed bone. Flail chest, ribs 2,3,4,5,6 broken on right side with two fracture lines. Miscellaneous: Eye balls are missing. Missing soft tissue around left eye brow, bone is exposed. Camera around his neck, film was water damaged. Cause of death: Multiple fractured ribs, internal bleeding.

Kolya Thibault-Brignols Clothing: Fur hat, woolen hat, shirt, wool sweater, fur jacket, wool gloves in right pocket, underwear, sweat pants, cotton pants, ski pants, wool socks, Russian shoes, and felt boots. Injuries: Multiple fractures to the temporal bone, with extensions to the frontal and sphenoid bones. Cut on the lower forearm. Bruise on the left upper lip. Miscellaneous: Kolya wore 2 watches on his wrist. Cause of death: Massive head trauma.

Ludya Dubinina - Clothes: Short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, 2 sweaters on of which belonged to Georgy, underwear, 2 pairs of pants one of which was damaged by fire, long socks, small hat, and 2 pairs of warm socks. Injuries: Massive hemorrhage of the hearts right atrium. Ribs 2,3,4,5,6,7 on the left side are broken with two visible fracture lines. Ribs 2,3,4,5 are broken on the right side with two visible fracture lines. Nose cartilages are broken and flat. Tissue damaged around left temporal bone. Bruise on the middle of left thigh. Miscellaneous: Eye balls are missing. Soft tissue missing around eyes and eyebrows, nose bridge and left cheekbone partially exposed. Soft tissue of the upper lip missing, teeth and upper jaw is exposed. Tongue is missing. 100 grams of coagulated blood in stomach. Georgy's sweater later tests radioactive. Cause of death: Hemorrhage of the right atrium of the heart, multiple fractured ribs, internal bleeding.

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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Theories Part 1: Something compelled them to leave the tent.

Unless explicitly described otherwise, all theories will assume a few things. The group sought shelter in the trees when they either could not find the tent again, could not reach the tent, or feared returning to the tent. All causes of death in the autopsy are correct. All injuries are due to falls while walking with hypothermic limbs and frozen feet, or by falling from the tree. The three deaths caused by massive injuries were sustained in a fall into the ravine where they landed on rocks. All missing soft tissue, eyeballs, nose, and tongue are assumed to be the result of decomposition, animal scavenging, and putrefication. The missing and torn clothes are a result of the hikers removing them from their deceased friends in attempt to stave off death.

Avalanche

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This theory has been the Occam's razor for decades. It posits that the group cut their way out of the tent after being hit by an avalanche. Fearing another, they retreated to the tree line in hopes of waiting out the night. It can even be used to explain the serious internal injuries as an avalanche is capable of such force.

Why it doesn't work: The slope above the tent sits at an angle of 16 degrees. This angle means it is practically impossible for an avalanche to occur. The search party found no debris field which would necessarily accompany an avalanche. The tent was in decent condition, and a pick axe that was seen standing in a photo by the hikers is later photographed by the searchers in the exact same position. Lastly, the injuries make a journey of a mile in extreme conditions impossible. You can't make that trek with flail chest and a dashed skull.

High Winds

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An early theory during the search was that the group was blown down the hill by high winds. One hiker stepped out, maybe to take a leak, and was blown down the hill. This brought out others to help who were then blown away, and so on. The winds and slope making it impossible to return to the tent, the hikers turned downhill towards the forest to find shelter.

Why it doesn't work: The flaws in this theory were plain even then. If they were blown away, why was the tent and their belongings in such relatively good condition a month later? It's also a huge reach that all of them would fall for the same trap, yet none of them saw what was happening and bothered to put shoes on. Unless Dyatlov was among the first blown down the hill, it seems highly unlikely he would allow such a farce without anybody dressing properly to rescue the others or designating someone to stay put no matter what. And most obviously, why would they cut the tent?

Psychosis Due To Bad Moonshine Or Food

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This one says that the group had a collective psychotic episode due to consuming bad homemade liquor. Or perhaps some of the food they ate that night had gone bad and the mold made them go crazy.

Why it doesn't work: According to survivor Yuri Yudin, the group didn't drink. They were almost complete teetotalers. The only alcohol they brought was a bottle of medicinal alcohol which was found by the search party untouched. Their autopsies revealed no sign of having eaten rotten food. And the group did too many things rationally once they were out of the tent for a prolonged psychotic episode as good digests. A fire was built, branches were laid out to make an insulated floor, clothing was taken from the dead.

Yeti

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The evidence for this theory comes from the group themselves. An out of focus photograph was taken the day before the incident of a figure in the woods. The morning of the incident the group wrote a satirical newspaper titled "The Otorten Times." In the science section they write "now we know that yeti are real and they live in the Ural Mountains." Rustic's injuries are strange, even for this mystery. He sustained a frontal skull fracture, abrasions and bruises on both sides of his head, and bleeding from both temples. These require him to fall down over and over onto both sides of his head. A yeti may have beaten him in an attempt to drive away the intruders from his territory.

Why it doesn't work: The newspaper is filled with inside jokes and tongue in cheek articles. The figure has what I would call a Patterson film-esque posture, which is interesting looking. But it's limbs seem small for an abominable snowman. No giant footprints were found by the search party. 

Infrasound

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Infrasound is sound at a frequency below the limit of normal human hearing. Though unable to "hear" it, the vibrations nonetheless stimulate the stereocillia within the ear the same as happens with audible sound. This stimulation causes a physiological reaction within the body that can result in feelings of anxiety, unease, extreme sorrow, nervousness, revulsion, fear, chills down the spine, and pressure in the chest.

An infrasound expert examining the topography of the site postulates that the  mountain top above the camp is perfectly shaped to produce a Karman Vortex Street. In fluid dynamics a karman vortex street occurs when an object in the path of a fluid creates a separation in flow that results in a series of vortices on both sides of the object.

It is thought that the wind on the summit of the mountain that night created a Karman vortex street and that the tent was placed precisely between the resulting flow. The result was invisible tornado after tornado on both sides of the tent. In addition to the intense audible noise the wind created, it also produced infrasound which vibrated everything within the tent as well as the stereocillia within the hiker's ears. Prolonged exposure caused feelings and physiological responses within their bodies that made staying in the tent an unthinkable proposition. They fled to relieve themselves of these inexplicable feelings. Once far enough away and with the feelings subsided, they could no longer see the tent in the still moonless, windy night. So they descended towards the trees to shelter and survive long enough to where they could glimpse the tent.

Why it doesn't work: Feelings of unease, anxiety, sorrow, and even fear; are not the same thing as carving up your shelter and fleeing without proper clothes into what you know to be murderous conditions. A feeling that builds until being unbearable certainly should be bearable enough to put on shoes when you know what your going out into. Additionally, the study that notes on the feelings of dread for those exposed to infrasound reports that only 22% of those tested reported those feelings. 9 hikers out of 9 fleeing the proverbial pan into the fire is 100%. That doesn't mean infrasound can't be the answer. It is the most plausible natural explanation that I have heard. But the understanding of the effects of infrasound on the human body just aren't backed up by science yet to conclude with certainty that this is the answer. Someday we will have a better understanding on the subject. Until then all the other doors remain open to some degree.

Orbs/Rocket Test/UFO

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Lead prosecutor Lev Ivanov revealed in 1990 that he always believed something in the sky was at fault for the hikers deaths. He claimed his superiors forced him to remove any mention from the investigation of strange things in the sky. The final photo taken (pictured above) by the group is curious. Also remember that Sasha fled the tent and took a camera with him.

There were numerous sightings in February 1959 of strange objects in the Urals, even in the vicinity of Otorten Mountain. A group of geologists 70km away saw glowing and pulsating of a flying in the direction of Kholat Syakhl on the night of the first. There were still more reports later in the month. On the 17th a friend and fellow hiker from UPI reported that his team had seen an orb of light in the sky with an extremely bright star at the center. This object took about a minute to traverse the sky, and was bright enough to bring onlookers out of their houses and hikers sans shoes out of their tents to witness it.

Though later revelations showed Soviet missile tests had occurred during February 1959, they would have landed in the Northern Urals hundreds of miles away. 

Why it doesn't work: While onlookers on the 17th did leave their tents without dressing properly to see the phenomena in the sky, they did so out of wonder, curiosity, and maybe uneasiness. They didn't cut their way out of the tent in a panic and flee into harsh conditions for a mile. There is also no evidence of a missile explosion found by the search party. If a concussion from a weapon were the cause of the brutal internal injuries, the hikers had to already be down the hill when it helped, because nobody was moving after those injuries.

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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Theories Part 2: Someone caused them to leave the tent

It is easier far easier to concoct a concrete scenario that explains the movements and injuries of the hikers using theories that assume non-human intervention. Adding people increases the variables, so I'm not going to detail all the possible actions that may have occurred during these theories. What I'll do instead is to first list some of the particularly strange aspects of the case that overlap in the various theories, before delving into what those theories are.

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Lyuda's missing tongue - Other than the cuts to the tent, this is the detail that sticks with people most. Various sources claim that 100 grams of coagulated blood were found in her stomach during the autopsy. This would mean that she was still alive when her tongue was removed.

Skeptic would say: Lyuda was laying facedown in what amounted to a creek when all the snow melted. Microfauna in the water led to the soft tissue of her tongue being broken down first during putrefaction. Conspiracist's reply: There was plenty of soft tissue that wasn't missing. You ignored the blood in the stomach.

The Soviet Government's many suspicious actions - Before bodies were even found, the Ivdel prosecutor was assigned to take charge of the search. By the time bodies were found, events were already in motion to replace that prosecutor with a much more powerful one in Lev Ivanov. Famously, Ivanov was directed to avoid investigating possibilities of murder or things in the sky. Then, he was forced to close the case days after the autopsy of the last bodies, the ones who died violent deaths. Lastly, the government tried to dictate the funerals to the families.

Skeptic would say: The Soviet Government was trying to avoid embarassment. 9 dead college students looks bad on society. Besides, the Soviets were secretive about even the simplest things. Conspiracist's reply: I don't think that helps your case. +++++ing commies.

The discolored skin on some of the bodies - Loved ones reported at the funerals that the skin on some of the victims appeared orange to dark brown. Dyatlov's sister recalls his hair had turned white. The government demanded the first bodies not be buried all at once...perhaps because four orange bodies lying side by side would be suspicous, maybe? The government mandated that the last four bodies have closed casket funerals.

The skeptic would say: The bodies were lying out in the sun, some for weeks, others for months. This combined with natural decomposition is the reason for any discoloration. Also, at the time of the autopsies no note was made of such dark discoloration. Conspiracists reply: What about the clothes that tested positive for radiation?

The Various Injuries - Besides the grievous injuries that killed Lynda, Kolya, and Sasha; there are other suspicious injuries. As mentioned before, Rustic's head injuries. Dyatlov's bruising on his hands, like one gets when making a fist. The baton shaped bruise on Zina's side and lower back.

Skeptic would say: The were freezing to death and walking in the snow without shoes. They fell repeatedly as they lost feeling in their limbs. Sometimes you land funny. Conspiracist's reply: Rustic fell over and over and caught himself with the sides of his head. Really?

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The Zinc Coffins: The pilot of the military helicopter refused to fly out the last four bodies unless they were encased in Zinc coffins. Rather than reprimand the officer for insubordination, the government complied. Immediately.

Skeptic would say: A superstitious officer relaying fears about military gossip. The coffins were no inconvenience to the government so no big deal. Also, zinc is to protect against biological agents. If radiation is the worry, why not lead? Conspiracist's reply Hey! Who's the +++++ing conspiracist here?

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What's The Deal With Sasha? - Sasha is older, a stranger, and ex-military; and he joins the group at the last minute. After, it should be noted, the group's planned route has been sent up the proper channels and approved by authorities. And when he joins the group, he introduces himself as "Alexander" Zolotaryov. His real name is Semen Zolotaryov.

The skeptic would say: People go by different names all the time. He fit in well with the group despite the the discrepancy in age and experience. If something fishy was up and he was a part of it, he died too. Extremely painfully. Conspiracist's reply: He was found with a camera around his neck, but sadly the film was too damaged to develop. All five of the groups known cameras were recovered in the tent. Why was he hiding a sixth camera the entire trip?

There is more, like a camera and diary that were never released, but you get the picture. There are a thousand threads that can be used to weave a plausible conspiracy. So let's get to them.

The Altercation/Violent Hiker Theory

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The idea is that one, or a few, of the hikers went violently crazy. Fearing for their lives the rest of the group cut the tent and fled. Or perhaps feelings for the opposite sex grew heated between some of the men. Yudin said that many in the group had crushes on each other. A picture of Zina was found in Dyatlov's notebook in his abandoned coat at the campsite, and in his autopsy he showed bruising like is found when you hit something with a fist.

Why it doesn't work: This is extremely suicidal behavior over a fistfight. This is extremely suicidal behavior over a fistfight. These guys weren't that dumb. I hate this theory.

Murdered By Escaped Criminals

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Gulags were prevalent in the area. This theory posits that an escaped group of convicts killed the hikers in an attempt to keep knowledge of their existence hidden.

Why it doesn't work: The nearest prison is 50 miles away over harsh terrain. The conditions in the Urals are on the line between inhospitable and uninhabitable. The Mansi people would certainly know of a foreign group hiding in their area. These hikers were tough as nails, Sasha was a combat veteran, axes and a hatchet were readily available for defense.

Killed By Mansi Natives

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Early in the case suspicion fell on the Mansi people indigenous to the area. It was thought perhaps the hikers had trampled upon sacred ground. Ski trails of Mansi hunters existed throughout the Urals and the group had followed the. Whenever they could.

Why it doesn't work: The Mansi theory was thoroughly investigated and dismissed. There were no sacred sites in the area, and the worship of the sacred sites that do exist had fallen out of practice with the people. The Mansi are a peaceful people that have historically been welcoming and helpful to Russian travelers. Mansi natives were among the first to volunteer to search for the group, and they provided assistance throughout the investigation. Lastly, and this a problem with all of the outsider theories, there was no evidence of Mansi interference.

Soviet Special Forces

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Survivor Yuri Yudin believed until he died that "men with guns" were the cause of his friend's deaths. He believed they died because they were accidentally somewhere they should not have been, and that Lyuda's tongue did not go missing on its own. She was the most fiercely outspoken of the group, and it maybe that she was made an example of. Perhaps whatever was in the sky that night was something top secret that Soviet authorities did not wish to be revealed. Though extra footprints in the area were not noted by searchers, they may not have noticed because early on they did not expect to find any dead bodies since there weren't any in the tent. Many in Russia still believe there are unreleased documents withheld by the government. The government's interference in the investigation is suspicious.

Why it doesn't work: The Soviet Government acted suspicous over trivial matters all the time. Why would they leave any evidence? Wouldn't these hikers just disappear like so many others inconvenient to the Soviet Government? 

Secret KGB Agents Killed By the CIA/MI6

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In the early years of the Cold War, western powers would need physical evidence from an area within Russia to be certain where nuclear tests were occurring. This theory posits that one or more members of the group were KGB agents intentionally deceiving embedded western spies. Sasha, due to his interloper status and military history, and Georgy, due to his apparently working at a nuclear plant, are brought up the most as KGB moles. The radioactive clothing found could have been brought along to be exchanged during a "chance" meeting with another hiking expedition. But something went wrong, perhaps the western spies discovered the double cross. It has been speculated that the tent site was staged. The pile of shoes found is uncharacteristic of a normally OCD Dyatlov camp site. And the stove, specially designed by Dyatlov, was found unassembled. Curious considering the windy and -40 degree temperatures that killed many of the hikers.

Why it doesn't work: The idea of secret agents moving undetected in the Urals, in a large enough group to overcome our hardy hiking group, is hard to fathom. The abnormal radioactivity of the clothes has been called into question.

Aliens

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I'd run too...

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Final Thoughts

If you can't tell by now, I think the Dyatlov Pass Incident is a great rabbit hole. It has everything you could want; dead heroes, mysterious injuries, almost inexplicable actions on their part, a shady Government coverup, lights in the sky, and every explanation has as much going for it as against it. At its heart, it is a cold case with details too strange for believable fiction.

I wonder at myself. I've always had an interest in true crime. I don't deny that the morbidity fascinates me. There isn't a murder I've heard of that I haven't looked up the crime scene photos. Thankfully I am repulsed by the images, at least I do not find them interesting for their own sake like a psychopath. The autopsy photos in this case I find particularly upsetting. I wish I could say it was because I got to know a little bit about these people, but it's not. Something about the black and white photographs wigs me out in ways I can't explain. But really, while reading about stuff like this it is coming across a living portrait that never fails to give me chills. It's weird, I don't know...

Had they lived, it is unlikely any of these kids would have changed the world. Youth is full of all possibility. But in truth, the most of us will lead quiet lives no matter how much possibility any life holds. The fact that they died probably didn't change the world. Their mysterious deaths left little effect on the world save for those that knew them.

It bothers me, though. For no good reason I suppose. It's just all so weird. Normal people would not do what they did. People as intelligent, experienced, and hardy as they were certainly wouldn't do as they did. Unless...something. Pondering the existence and nature of the universe is baffling enough. At least there I believe there are laws that give it order, even if I struggle with the simplest of them and the brightest minds may never know a fraction of them. Human experience and behavior is a variable that does lend itself to order. And this is the mystery that keeps me coming back down this rabbit hole.

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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I wouldn't mind seeing the debunking angles right after the theories.  Then we can talk about why the debunk is wrong or right along with the theories, etc. and everyone has an easy place to see the main debunks if you will.

BTW I already spent an hour at work yesterday reading theories about this - tumbling down the hole.

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  God is a Cowboy

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38 minutes ago, nirv117 said:

I wouldn't mind seeing the debunking angles right after the theories.  Then we can talk about why the debunk is wrong or right along with the theories, etc. and everyone has an easy place to see the main debunks if you will.

BTW I already spent an hour at work yesterday reading theories about this - tumbling down the hole.

Alright. I'll try to keep it brief. 

Its a juicy one isn't it?

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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On 2/22/2017 at 0:19 PM, happycamper said:

Hmm...

 

KGB experiment a la the CIA's LSD period?

(Looking at the autopsy report)

In Soviet Russia, Acid trips you!

We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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On 2/22/2017 at 4:35 PM, thelawlorfaithful said:

I'm wondering if in the theories section I should provide the debunking angle, or just lay out each theory and what supports it? We can debunk later on.

I'd do both

Remember that every argument you have with someone on MWCboard is actually the continuation of a different argument they had with someone else also on MWCboard. 

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Well @mugtang, @sebasour, @halfmanhalfbronco, @retrofade, @CPslograd, @DestinFlPackfan, @Joe from WY, @bsu_alum9, @happycamper, @4UNLV.

Use this thread as a template for when you do your subjects. You don't have to go into the depths I did, I really dig this one. It's up to you. Or you can go deeper. Some advice though.

Break it up into sections. It's easier than a wall of text.

Edit a little bit at a time. It sucks to type a bunch only to have something to wrong and lose it all.

Pictures help.

Have fun.

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We’re all sitting in the dugout. Thinking we should pitch. How you gonna throw a shutout when all you do is bitch.

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35 minutes ago, halfmanhalfbronco said:

I have been emailing Patterson.  I plan doing my subjects right

Dude, I want to see that computer.

Because Patterson has been dead for 40 years.

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