The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Intro

‘In late January 1959, ten experienced Soviet hikers embarked on an expedition through the challenging and remote terrain of the Northern Ural Mountains in western Russia. As they started their journey, one of the hikers started suffering from severe joint pain and decided to abandon the trip. As he waved goodbye to his nine comrades who continued on into the wilderness whilst he headed back to civilization, he had no idea that he would be the last person to see these nine hikers alive. What followed was one of the greatest mysteries to have ever come out of the Soviet Union. 

When the hikers never reappeared, a search party was sent out to find them. The bodies of all nine hikers were eventually discovered on the slopes of an infamously dangerous mountain. The scene was both eerie and perplexing: their tent was found torn open from the inside, and the hikers’ corpses lay scattered in various states of undress and bizarre positions, some with catastrophic injuries, yet no sign of struggle. The inexplicable circumstances—such as one victim missing their tongue and eyes, and others showing signs of extreme internal trauma with no external wounds—have sparked endless theories ranging from avalanches to secret military experiments, from wild animals to aliens, but the true cause of their deaths remains an enigma. This is the curious case of Dyatlov Pass.’

Background

‘In January 1959, ten experienced ski-hikers, mostly students from the Ural Polytechnic Institute, set out on a challenging skiing expedition in the northern Urals of Sverdlovsk Oblast in the heart of the Soviet Union. The group was led by Igor Dyatlov, a 23-year-old radio engineering student, and initially included nine people – seven men (Yuri Doroshenko, Georgiy Krivonishenko, Alexander Kolevatov, Rustem Slobodin, Nikolai Thibeaux-Brignolles, Yuri Yudin and the leader Dyatlov) and also two women – Lyudmilla Dubinina and Zinaida Kolmogrova. They were all friends and in their early twenties. All members were experienced Grade II hikers aiming for Grade III certification, which required a 300-kilometre trek.

‘Their approved route was intended to take them to the remote northern regions of Sverdlovsk Oblast, particularly towards Otorten Mountain, 10 kilometres north of where the incident later unfolded. This difficult journey was to be undertaken in February, the harshest time of year for such a trek. On 23 January, the group received their route book for the No. 5 trail, and an additional person was added to the expedition by Soviet authorities. His name was Semyon Zolotaryov, and he had prior experience with similar expeditions. Zolotaryov was 38-years-old, quite a bit older than the other hikers and had never met any of them. It is speculated that he may have been working for the KGB and had been foisted on the expedition in order to keep an eye on the students, although there is no solid evidence available to back this up. They departed from Sverdlovsk city the same day on 23 January.

‘The group travelled by train to Ivdel, reaching it in the early hours of 25 January 1959, and then took a truck to Vizhai, the last inhabited settlement in the area. On 27 January they set off on their ski-trek, which would take them around a rather ominously named mountain – Kholat Syakhl, or Dead Mountain. 

‘It was the next day on the 28th, that one of the hikers, Yuri Yudin, who suffered from various illnesses such as rheumatism and a congenital heart defect, started to develop severe joint pain and was forced to turn back. The remaining nine continued on their hike, documenting their journey through diaries and photographs.

By 31 January, the hikers had reached the edge of a highland area and cached some supplies for their return trip in a wooded valley. The next day, they started to cross the pass but, due to worsening weather conditions, lost their way and ended up on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl, or Dead Mountain. Deciding to camp there rather than move to a more sheltered location, they set up their tent on the mountain slope.’

Search and discovery

‘Before leaving, Dyatlov had agreed to send a telegram to their sports club once the group returned to Vizhai. This was expected to occur by around 12 February, although Dyatlov had informed Yudin, before his departure from the group, that it might take longer. When 12 February passed without any messages, there was initially no concern, as minor delays were common in such expeditions. However, by 20 February, the hikers’ relatives were demanding a rescue operation, prompting the institute’s head to dispatch the first rescue teams, which included volunteer students and teachers. The army and militsiya (police) soon joined the effort, deploying planes and helicopters to assist in the search.

‘On 26 February, searchers discovered the group’s abandoned and severely damaged tent on Kholat Syakhl. The campsite presented an eerie and puzzling scene. Mikhail Sharavin, the student who found the tent, described it as “half torn down and covered with snow. It was empty, and all the group’s belongings and shoes had been left behind.” Investigators noted that the tent had been slashed open from the inside. Nine sets of footprints, made by people wearing only socks, a single shoe, or barefoot, were traced leading down to the edge of a nearby wood, about 1.5 kilometres northeast of the campsite. These tracks were eventually covered by snow after 500 metres. 

‘At the forest’s edge, beneath a large Siberian pine, searchers discovered the remains of a small fire and the first two bodies, those of Krivonischenko and Doroshenko, shoeless and clad only in their underwear. The bodies also had burn marks and Krivonischenko had a piece of his own knuckle in his mouth. Broken branches on the nearby tree, up to five metres high, suggested that one of the hikers had climbed up to possibly look for the campsite or to get away from something. Between the pine tree and the camp, searchers found three more bodies: Dyatlov, Kolmogorova, and Slobodin, facing up the slope and in poses indicating attempts to return to the tent.

‘The search for the remaining four hikers took over two months. They were finally discovered on 4 May, under four metres of snow in a ravine 75 metres further into the woods from the pine tree. These four were better dressed than the others, with signs that clothing from those who had died earlier had been used by the survivors. Dubinina was found wearing Krivonishenko’s burned, torn trousers, and her left foot and shin were wrapped in a torn jacket.’

Investigation

‘A legal inquest began immediately after the discovery of the first five bodies. Medical examinations revealed no injuries that could have caused their deaths, concluding that they had all succumbed to hypothermia. Although Slobodin had a minor skull fracture, it was not deemed fatal. The two bodies discovered by the fire, Krivonischenko and Doroshenko, bore severe burns, possibly from their desperate attempts to stay warm in just their underwear. The piece of knuckle found in Krivonischenko’s mouth is believed to have bitten off in a fit of agony.

‘The discovery of the four remaining bodies in May altered the understanding of the incident. Thibeaux-Brignolles had severe skull damage, while Dubinina and Zolotaryov had major chest fractures. According to forensic expert Boris Vozrozhdenny, the force required to cause such injuries would have been immense, similar to that of a car crash. Strikingly, the bodies had no external wounds typically associated with such fractures, suggesting they were subjected to intense trauma and pressure.

‘All four bodies found in the stream had soft tissue damage to their heads and faces. Dubinina was missing her tongue, eyes, part of her lips, facial tissue, and a fragment of skull bone, while Zolotaryov had lost his eyeballs, and Kolevatov his eyebrows. Forensic expert Vozrozhdenny concluded these injuries occurred post-mortem due to the bodies being in a stream.  

‘Initially, there was speculation that the indigenous Mansi people had attacked the group for encroaching on their territory. However, the investigation found no evidence to support this theory; only the hikers’ footprints were found at the campsite, with no signs of a struggle.

Despite temperatures around -25 to -30°C and a storm, the bodies were only partially dressed. Some wore just one shoe, others only socks, and some were wrapped in fragments of clothing cut from the bodies of those who had already died.

Journalists reviewing inquest files reported that:

• Six group members died of hypothermia, and three from fatal injuries.

• No other people were present in the vicinity.

• The tent had been torn open from within.

• The victims died six to eight hours after their last meal.

• All group members left the campsite voluntarily.

• Some clothing showed traces of radiation. But this is likely due to the fact that two of the hikers had worked at radioactive sites, leading to the possibility of residual contamination.

• To counter the Mansi attack theory, Vozrozhdenny stated that the injuries were too severe to have been inflicted by humans without damaging soft tissue. Officially, it was concluded that the group died due to an “unknown compelling force.” The inquest was closed in May 1959, and the files were archived secretly.

‘Photographs developed from the cameras recovered from the hikers revealed some unsettling images that have fueled various theories. One of the last images captured a shadowy humanoid figure emerging from the nearby trees, with an eerie and unnatural posture. This peculiar figure sparked speculation that the hikers were attacked by a yeti-like creature. Another photo, blurry and showing a burst of light amidst complete darkness, led some to suggest the presence of a bomb or even a UFO. However, these interpretations were later debunked; the “yeti” figure was likely just one of the hikers returning to the campsite after going for a pee, and the mysterious light burst was probably just light from a stove.’

Theories

The Dyatlov Pass case, named after the expedition’s leader, remains one of the most perplexing mysteries in the annals of unsolved incidents. Over the years, a multitude of theories has emerged, each offering its own perspective on the tragedy. Among these, the avalanche theory stands out as one of the most prominent and widely discussed explanations. On 11 July 2020, Andrey Kuryakov from the Urals Federal District directorate of the Prosecutor-General’s Office officially declared an avalanche as the cause of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Swiss researchers later supported this theory through independent simulations. Kuryakov’s report suggests that the hikers’ actions, which initially seemed illogical, were actually a result of their response to a perceived avalanche threat. The hikers likely heard loud noises and felt the tent collapsing, prompting them to evacuate hastily. Their subsequent actions, including starting a fire and seeking shelter in the woods, were typical emergency responses to such a crisis. The experienced hikers, aware of avalanche dangers, would have been particularly fearful, and their knowledge may have inadvertently led to their demise when they fled inappropriately.

Benjamin Radford, an American sceptic, considered the avalanche theory more plausible than sensational explanations like the “Yeti” hypothesis. Radford proposed that the group might have cut their way out of the tent due to an avalanche or the imminent threat of one. In their panic, they fled into the woods, some in inadequate clothing, and split into smaller groups. The group that made a fire succumbed to hypothermia, while those who tried to return to the tent were unable to navigate back in the darkness. The severely damaged bodies were likely buried under snow, and scavenging animals could have caused some of the post-mortem injuries observed.

Several factors contradict the avalanche theory, however. No obvious signs of an avalanche were found at the site, and the bodies were covered with only a thin layer of snow. The terrain analysis indicated that any avalanche would have missed the tent and left a different pattern of damage. The area where the incident occurred has been thoroughly investigated in the years since, with no evidence of conditions conducive to an avalanche in February. Furthermore, the footprints leading away from the tent suggested a calm and deliberate departure rather than a panicked escape, inconsistent with a high-stress avalanche scenario. Experienced hikers like Dyatlov and Zolotaryov would likely avoid camping in avalanche-prone areas.

A 2015–2019 review by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) re-examined the evidence with new insights. The harsh weather conditions on the night of the incident, including high winds and extreme cold, were not adequately considered by the original investigators. The ICRF concluded that a slow-moving snow slide likely triggered the hikers’ evacuation. The group’s errors in choosing a campsite and their decision to split up after the slide contributed to their deaths. The investigators criticised the initial probe for its lack of thoroughness, which left many questions unanswered.

In 2021, physicists Alexander Puzrin and Johan Gaume published a model demonstrating how even a small snow slab slide could explain the tent damage and the injuries suffered by the Dyatlov group. Their research in Communications Earth & Environment showed that such a slide could match the observed patterns and injuries, lending further support to the avalanche theory.

In 2019, a Swedish-Russian expedition suggested that a violent katabatic wind could have been responsible for the tragedy. Katabatic winds are powerful, descending winds that can occur in mountainous regions. The expedition noted similarities with other incidents caused by such winds and proposed that the hikers were forced out of the tent by these winds. The hikers might have built two bivouac shelters, one of which collapsed, leading to severe injuries and deaths.

Donnie Eichar’s 2013 book Dead Mountain popularised the theory that infrasound, generated by wind passing over Kholat Syakhl, might have caused panic attacks among the hikers. According to Eichar, the infrasound could have induced distress, prompting the hikers to flee the tent. The subsequent injuries were attributed to stumbling over a ravine. While intriguing, this theory remains speculative and lacks conclusive evidence.

Another theory posits that the hikers’ deaths resulted from Soviet military parachute mine tests. The loud explosions might have caused the hikers to flee in panic, leading to their deaths from subsequent explosions or injuries. Records show parachute mine tests were conducted in the area around that time. However, this theory is contested due to the lack of evidence connecting the tests directly to the hikers’ injuries.

Some speculate that the hikers were victims of Soviet radiological weapon tests, partly based on the discovery of radioactivity on some clothing and reported skin discoloration. However, this theory is challenged by the fact that radiation would likely have affected all the hikers and equipment, not just a few. The discoloration can be explained by natural mummification processes.

The hypothesis of paradoxical undressing suggests that hypothermia-induced confusion might have caused the hikers to remove their clothes, even as they were freezing. While six hikers did die from hypothermia, the presence of additional clothing on some victims suggests they were aware enough to try and add layers. 

Various other theories, including attacks by local tribes, animal wildlife, or internal disputes, have been considered but largely debunked. Evidence such as lack of animal tracks, the hikers’ behaviour, and available forensic data undermines these speculative explanations. Keith McCloskey’s 2015 visit to the site and his findings further highlighted inconsistencies and added to the complexity of understanding the incident.

Outro

‘That’s all we have time for today, but as we finish up, it’s important to stress that despite various theories having various degrees of support, we still do not know for sure what happened that fateful night on Kholat Syakhl in February 1959. Despite decades of investigation and countless theories—ranging from avalanches to mysterious phenomena—the true events that led to the tragic deaths of these nine hikers continue to defy conclusive explanation. Each theory sheds light on potential causes, but is often countered by conflicting evidence or circumstances. Unless some significant evidence is uncovered or a breakthrough is made, the Dyatlov Pass incident will likely go down in history as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Soviet Union, or even modern human history.’

‘Thanks so much for listening and see you next time. Goodbye.’