Unsolved Mysteries - The Dyatlov Pass

Unsolved Mysteries - The Dyatlov Pass

 

 Source Thumbnail : LEMMiNO ( YT Channel )

Fact #1 : The Dyatlov Pass Incident refers to the event in which 9 out of 10 mountain hikers lost their lives on February 2, 1959. The incident happened at night on Kholat Syakhl’s eastern side.Ever since the event, the mountain pass where this tragedy happened has been called as Dyatlov Pass after the name of Igor Dyatlov who was the leader of the group during the hiking expedition.The group wanted to reach the Otorten Mountain which is located 10 kilometers to the north of Dyatlov Pass.The route taken by the hikers was categorized as Class III during February. Class III means ‘MOST DIFFICULT’.

Fact #2 : The 10 members who embarked on this journey were highly experienced hikers with long ski tour experiences. The group consisted of the following members:

• Igor Alekseievich Dyatlov
• Yuri Nikolaievich Doroshenko
• Lyudmila Alexandrovna Dubinina
• Yuri Alexeievich Krivonischenko
• Alexander Sergeievich Kolevatov
• Zinaida Alekseevna Kolmogorova
• Rustem Vladimirovich Slobodin
• Nicolai Vladimirovich Thibeaux-Brignolles
• Semyon Alexandrovich Zolotariov
• Yuri Yefimovich Yudin

Fact #3 : Two out of these 10 members were females and most of them were from Ural Polytechnical Institute.The group started their journey in January and reached Ivdel city by train on January 25. From there they reached Vizhai by a truck on January 27. Vizhai was the last inhabited area to the north of the province Sverdlovsk Oblast.

Fact #4 : On January 28, Yuri Yefimovich Yudin had to return back because he was feeling sick. The rest of the 9 members continued with their journey.The group arrived at a highland area’s edge on January 31. They prepped up for climbing and in a wooden valley, they stashed some surplus equipment and food with the intention of using the same during their return journey.\

Fact #5 : On February 1^st, the group started moving through the pass. They possibly had the intentions of making over to the other side of the pass and camp for the night. However, they ended up losing direction and moved west because terrible weather conditions and near-zero visibility. As they lost direction, they moved up towards Kholat Syakhl (which translates into ‘Dead Mountain’). 

Fact #6 : Search and Discovery

Before leaving, Dyatlov had agreed he would send a telegram to their sports club as soon as the group returned to Vizhai. It was expected that this would happen no later than February 12, but Dyatlov had told Yudin, before his departure from the group, that he expected to be longer. When the 12th passed and no messages had been received, there was no immediate reaction, as delays of a few days were common with such expeditions. It was not until the relatives of the travelers demanded a rescue operation on February 20 that the head of the institute sent the first rescue groups, consisting of volunteer students and teachers.Later, the army and militsiya forces became involved, with planes and helicopters being ordered to join the rescue operation.
On February 26, the searchers found the group's abandoned and badly damaged tent on Kholat Syakhl. The campsite baffled the search party. Mikhail Sharavin, the student who found the tent, said "the tent was half torn down and covered with snow. It was empty, and all the group's belongings and shoes had been left behind." Investigators said the tent had been cut open from inside. Eight or nine sets of footprints, left by people who were wearing only socks, a single shoe or were even barefoot, could be followed, leading down toward the edge of a nearby woods, on the opposite side of the pass, 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the north-east. However, after 500 metres (1,600 ft) these tracks were covered with snow. At the forest's edge, under a large cedar, the searchers found the visible remains of a small fire, along with the first two bodies, those of Krivonischenko and Doroshenko, shoeless and dressed only in their underwear. The branches on the tree were broken up to five metres high, suggesting that one of the skiers had climbed up to look for something, perhaps the camp. Between the cedar and the camp the searchers found three more corpses: Dyatlov, Kolmogorova and Slobodin, who seemed to have died in poses suggesting that they were attempting to return to the tent.They were found separately at distances of 300, 480 and 630 metres from the tree.
Searching for the remaining four travelers took more than two months. They were finally found on May 4 under four metres of snow in a ravine 75 metres farther into the woods from the cedar tree. These four were better dressed than the others, and there were signs that those who had died first had apparently relinquished their clothes to the others. Zolotariov was wearing Dubinina's faux fur coat and hat, while Dubinina's foot was wrapped in a piece of Krivonishenko's wool pants.
Another notable find besides the four remaining hikers was a camera around Zolotariov's neck. The camera was not reported as having been part of the equipment. Also, the film in the camera was reported to have been damaged by water.

Fact #7 : Investigation

A legal inquest started immediately after finding the first five bodies. A medical examination found no injuries which might have led to their deaths, and it was eventually concluded that they had all died of hypothermia. Slobodin had a small crack in his skull, but it was not thought to be a fatal wound.

An examination of the four bodies which were found in May shifted the narrative as to what had occurred during the incident. Three of the ski hikers had fatal injuries: Thibeaux-Brignolles had major skull damage, and both Dubinina and Zolotarev had major chest fractures. According to Dr. Boris Vozrozhdenny, the force required to cause such damage would have been extremely high, comparing it to the force of a car crash. Notably, the bodies had no external wounds related to the bone fractures, as if they had been subjected to a high level of pressure. However, major external injuries were found on Dubinina, who was missing her tongue, eyes, part of the lips, as well as facial tissue and a fragment of skullbone , she also had extensive skin maceration on the hands. It was claimed that Dubinina was found lying face down in a small stream that ran under the snow and that her external injuries were in line with putrefaction in a wet environment, and were unlikely to be related to her death.

There was initial speculation that the indigenous Mansi people might have attacked and murdered the group for encroaching upon their lands, but investigation indicated that the nature of their deaths did not support this hypothesis; the hikers' footprints alone were visible, and they showed no sign of hand-to-hand struggle.Although the temperature was very low, around −25 to −30 °C (−13 to −22 °F) with a storm blowing, the dead were only partially dressed. Some of them had only one shoe, while others had no shoes or wore only socks.Some were found wrapped in snips of ripped clothes that seemed to have been cut from those who were already dead.

Fact #8 : Aftermath
In 1967, Sverdlovsk writer and journalist Yuri Yarovoi (Russian: Юрий Яровой) published the novel Of the Highest Degree of Complexity, inspired by the incident. Yarovoi had been involved in the search for Dyatlov's group and at the inquest as an official photographer during both the search and the initial stage of the investigation, and so had insight into the events. The book was written during the Soviet era when details of the accident were kept secret and Yarovoi avoided revealing anything beyond the official position and well-known facts. The book romanticized the accident and had a much more optimistic end than the real events – only the group leader was found deceased. Yarovoi's colleagues say that he had alternative versions of the novel, but both were declined because of censorship. Since Yarovoi's death in 1980, all his archives, including photos, diaries and manuscripts, have been lost.
Anatoly Gushchin (Russian: Анатолий Гущин) summarized his research in the book The Price of State Secrets Is Nine Lives (Цена гостайны – девять жизней).Some researchers criticized the novel due to its concentration on the speculative theory of a Soviet secret weapon experiment, but its publication led to public discussion, stimulated by interest in the paranormal. Indeed, many of those who had remained silent for thirty years reported new facts about the accident. One of them was the former police officer, Lev Ivanov (Лев Иванов), who led the official inquest in 1959. In 1990, he published an article which included his admission that the investigation team had no rational explanation for the accident. He also stated that, after his team reported that they had seen flying spheres, he then received direct orders from high-ranking regional officials to dismiss this claim.In 2000, a regional television company produced the documentary film The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass (Тайна перевала Дятлова). With the help of the film crew, a Yekaterinburg writer, Anna Matveyeva (Russian: Анна Матвеева), published a fiction/documentary novella of the same name.A large part of the book includes broad quotations from the official case, diaries of victims, interviews with searchers and other documentaries collected by the film-makers. The narrative line of the book details the everyday life and thoughts of a modern woman (an alter ego of the author herself) who attempts to resolve the case.
Despite its fictional narrative, Matveyeva's book remains the largest source of documentary materials ever made available to the public regarding the incident. In addition, the pages of the case files and other documentaries (in photocopies and transcripts) are gradually being published on a web forum for enthusiastic researchers.A Dyatlov Foundation was founded in Yekaterinburg, with the help of Ural State Technical University, led by Yuri Kuntsevitch (Юрий Кунцевич). The foundation's stated aim is to convince current Russian officials to reopen the investigation of the case and to maintain the Dyatlov Museum to preserve the memory of the dead hikers.

Explanations [Fact 9-10]

Fact #9 : Avalanche

The theory that an avalanche caused the hikers' deaths, while initially popular, has since been questioned. Reviewing the sensationalist "Yeti" hypothesis (see below), American skeptic author Benjamin Radford suggests as more plausible;

"that the group woke up in a panic (...) and cut their way out the tent either because an avalanche had covered the entrance to their tent or because they were scared that an avalanche was imminent (...) (better to have a potentially repairable slit in a tent than risk being buried alive in it under tons of snow). They were poorly clothed because they had been sleeping, and ran to the safety of the nearby woods where trees would help slow oncoming snow. In the darkness of night they got separated into two or three groups; one group made a fire (hence the burned hands) while the others tried to return to the tent to recover their clothing, since the danger had apparently passed. But it was too cold, and they all froze to death before they could locate their tent in the darkness. At some point some of the clothes may have been recovered or swapped from the dead, but at any rate the group of four whose bodies were most severely damaged were caught in an avalanche and buried under 13 feet of snow (more than enough to account for the 'compelling natural force' the medical examiner described). Dubinina's tongue was likely removed by scavengers and ordinary predation."

However, contrary to what Radford states, this is very unlikely, and evidence contradicting the avalanche theory includes:

• The location of the incident did not have any obvious signs of an avalanche having taken place. An avalanche would have left certain patterns and debris distributed over a wide area. The bodies found within ten days of the event were covered with a very shallow layer of snow and, had there been an avalanche of sufficient strength to sweep away the second party, these bodies would have been swept away as well; this would have caused more serious and different injuries in the process and would have damaged the tree line.
• Over a hundred expeditions to the region were held since the incident, and none of them ever reported conditions that might create an avalanche. A study of the area using up-to-date terrain-related physics revealed that the location was entirely unlikely for such an avalanche to have occurred. The "dangerous conditions" found in another nearby area (which had significantly steeper slopes and cornices) were observed in April and May when the snowfalls of winter were melting. During February, when the incident occurred, there were no such conditions.
• An analysis of the terrain, the slope and the incline indicates that even if there could have been a very specific avalanche that circumvents the other criticisms, its trajectory would have bypassed the tent. It had collapsed laterally but not horizontally.
• Dyatlov was an experienced skier and the much older Alexander Zolotarev was studying for his Masters Certificate in ski instruction and mountain hiking. Neither of these two men would have been likely to camp anywhere in the path of a possible avalanche.

Fact #10 : Cryptozoological explanation

In search of an even more natural explanation, it has become increasingly common that the Dyatlov incident has been attributed to a fear and attack of an unknown animal. While a bear has been suggested and ruled out, the suggestion of the large yet-to-be-found hominid known as a Yeti or Abominable Snowman (reported throughout Asia, Europe, and North America, with similar sightings occurring on various other locations in the world) has been the most common. It is generally admitted that if there is any location where such a (presumably intelligent and well-adapted) creature could remain undetected, it would probably or possibly be in the remote wilderness of Russia.
The 2014 Discovery Channel special Russian Yeti: The Killer Lives explored the cryptozoological theory that the Dyatlov group was killed by a Russian Yeti, commonly referred to by the local Mansi people as "the forest giant" or "Menk". To further this theory they look at a wide range of evidence including the increasing number of sightings (including at least 5,000 documented so far), photographic evidence, hair samples, nesting sites, as well as casts of footprints of Yetis in Russia (and Asia in general), especially around the location where the students lost their lives. They also present photographic evidence of a humanoid figure and documents referring to snowmen, among other things. It is continually argued that if there was anything in the remote wilderness that could cause such fear as well as great harm to the students' bodies it would be the superhuman strength of this undiscovered giant primate. They also point to a note written by the students and found within the trashed tent stating "We now know snowmen exists." The show also featured interviews of people who investigated the camp site and observed such large and strange footprints close by the tent, but were noted as to having been ignored.
Writer and skeptic, Benjamin Radford, wrote on the Doubtful News website that "Russian Yeti" begins with the premise that the injuries sustained by the skiers were so grave and extraordinary that they could only have been inflicted by an inhumanly strong creature." The show focuses on Ludmila Dubinina's missing tongue and claims that something must have "ripped it out" of her. However, Radford states,

"As it happens a tongue-eating Yeti (…) is by far the least likely explanation. The 'missing parts' aspect of this case is a familiar one to skeptics, and has been invoked in countless other 'unsolved' mysteries including the chupacabra, cattle mutilations, Satanic animal sacrifices, and aliens. Typically a mystery is mongered by those unfamiliar with—or who intentionally ignore—ordinary predation and decomposition. Lots of animals both big and small scavenge on the soft parts of dead bodies. Another possibility is that Dubinina was caught in an avalanche and the force of the snow and rocks caused her tongue to be bitten off as she yelled and tumbled down the ravine where she was eventually found."

He also thought the show:

"would have us believe that the nine skiers had an encounter with a Yeti, which they not only saw and photographed but stalked them. And yet none of the skiers mentioned anything else about the Yeti, or their shock at having photographed the creature. In fact, if [..] to be believed, their encounter with a Yeti was such an insignificant event that they didn't mention it at all in their journals, and continued their journey uninterrupted."

The episode admits it found no real evidence to prove that the Yeti exists, although it did also state that sightings of these animals are becoming increasingly more frequent and common. Similar sightings of large humanoids in forests and mountains have also been on the increase along the Scandinavian Peninsula as well as the adjacent Russian Kola Peninsula.

Well... That's it , some creepy facts I've founded , Hope You guys enjoy... aaaaand PEACE

Sources :  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_incident

http://factslegend.org/36-interesting-dyatlov-pass-incident-facts/