Dyatlov Pass incident
The Dyatlov Pass incident is an unsolved mystery to the deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural mountains on the night of February 2, 1959. The incident happened on the east shoulder of the mountain Kholat Syakhl (Kholat-Siakhyl, a Mansi name, meaning Dead Mountain). The mountain pass where the incident occurred has since been named Dyatlov Pass (Pereval Diatlova) after the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov (Igor' Diatlov). To this day, the incident has not been solved.
Background
A group was formed for a ski trek across the northern Urals in Sverdlovsk Oblast. The group, led by Igor Dyatlov, consisted of eight men and two women. Most were students or graduates of Ural Polytechnical Institute (Ural'skii Politekhnicheskii Institut, UPI), now Ural Federal University:
Igor Alekseievich Dyatlov (Igor' Alekseevich Diatlov), the group's leader, born January 13, 1936
Zinaida Alekseevna Kolmogorova (Zinaida Alekseevna Kolmogorova), born January 12, 1937
Lyudmila Alexandrovna Dubinina (Liudmila Aleksandrovna Dubinina), born May 12, 1938
Alexander Sergeievich Kolevatov (Aleksandr Sergeevich Kolevatov), born November 16, 1934
Rustem Vladimirovich Slobodin (Rustem Vladimirovich Slobodin), born January 11, 1936
Yuri (Georgiy) Alexeievich Krivonischenko (Iurii (Georgii) Alekseevich Krivonishchenko), born February 7, 1935
Yuri Nikolaievich Doroshenko (Iurii Nikolaevich Doroshenko), born January 29, 1938
Nicolai Vladimirovich Thibeaux-Brignolles (Nikolai Vladimirovich Tibo-Brin'ol'), born July 5, 1935
Semyon (Alexander) Alexandrovich Zolotariov (Semen (Aleksandr) Aleksandrovich Zolotariov), born February 2, 1921
Yuri Yefimovich Yudin (Iurii Efimovich Iudin) (abandoned group because of illness), born July 19, 1937, died April 27, 2013
What killed the hikers?
It is not known what happened to the hikers. The most likely thing is that an avalanche hit them, and some of them struggled on until they died of cold and exposure. Only one hiker who left the group before the event happened survived. Six of the group members died of hypothermia and three of fatal injuries.
Theories
There are many conspiracy theories towards what killed the hikers. Many Russians believe that a local tribe called the Mansi people killed them for trespassing on their property. Others believe that the military had something to do with their death. High levels of radiation was found on their clothing so some believe that a missile misfired and crashed nearby the hikers.
What investigators discovered
Investigators at the time discovered that the hikers tore open their tent from inside, ran barefoot into heavy snow and a temperature of . Although the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing parts of her face such as her tongue.
Six of the group members died of hypothermia and three of fatal injuries.
There were no indications of other people nearby apart from the nine travelers on Kholat Syakhl, nor anyone in the surrounding areas.
The tent had been ripped open from within.
The victims had died 6 to 8 hours after their last meal.
Traces from the camp showed that all group members left the camp of their own accord, on foot.
To dispel the theory of an attack by the indigenous Mansi people, Dr. Boris Vozrozhdenny stated that the fatal injuries of the three bodies could not have been caused by another human being, "because the force of the blows had been too strong and no soft tissue had been damaged".
Forensic radiation tests had shown high doses of radioactive contamination on the clothes of a few victims.
Released documents contained no information about the condition of the skiers' internal organs.
There are no survivors of the incident.
References
Other websites
Map sheet of the Dyatlov Pass region (sheet P-40-83,84) scale 1:100000
Deathly Urals location draws in tourists
Complete photo gallery including search party photos
Some photos and text
Photo gallery including: party photos, photos of some investigator's documents including termination of criminal case act
1959 in the Soviet Union
Mysteries
Unsolved murders