World Mysteries - Dyatlov Pass - World's Unsolved Mysteries

World Mysteries - Dyatlov Pass - World's Unsolved Mysteries

The Dyatlov Pass incident was an event that took the lives of nine hikers in mysterious circumstances on the night of February 2, 1959 in the northern Ural Mountains. The name Dyatlov Pass refers to the name of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov. 

World Mysteries - Dyatlov Pass - World's Unsolved Mysteries

The True Story

DEAD MOUNTAIN: THE UNTOLD TRUE STORY of the DYATLOV PASS INCIDENT is the definitive examination of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, a mystery that has confounded investigators and inspired speculation for over fifty years. This gripping work of literary nonfiction reveals previously unpublished material and photographs, exclusive interviews, first-person investigations, and finally reveals the real story of what happened on Dead Mountain.

In January 1959, a group of Russian hikers from the Ural Polytechnic Institute embarked on a trip to Otorten Mountain in the northern Urals. As wintry conditions worsened, one hiker was forced to turn back due to illness, unaware that he would be the last person to see his companions alive. After two weeks without word from the hikers, a search team set off to investigate their disappearance. At the camp, the tent was discovered to be cut from the inside with the hikers belongings left undisturbed. Their bodies were found nearly a mile away. They seemed to have fled the tent insufficiently clothed, most of them without their shoes. Several had violent injuries such as fractured skulls and ribs. Investigators later found puzzling evidence, including possible signs of radiation and a final cryptic photograph taken by the hikers. With no witnesses and an inconclusive investigation, the question of how this team of experienced hikers met their tragic death would continue to confound authorities for over a half-century, and give rise to conjecture and theories that continue to stoke global interest in this mystery.

World Mysteries - Dyatlov Pass - World's Unsolved Mysteries

Dead Mountain author Donnie Eichar became intrigued by the story when he heard about it several years ago. With a background as a film director, he knew the power of a good story, and about four years ago began investigating the mystery, determined to find the truth about what killed the hikers. During two extended visits to Russia he uncovered a large collection of previously unreleased data, criminal case files, and the hikers’ own photos and journals. He was also able to interview dozens of friends and family members of the hikers, including Yuri Yudin, the expedition’s sole survivor, who shared his firsthand recollections with Eichar before his death this year. In addition to bringing fresh research to the case, Eichar retraced the hikers’ footsteps, following the same route that the Dyatlov group took on that fateful trip in 1959. The result is the most comprehensive, factual work to be published on the case, one that reveals for the first time what really happened that night on Dead Mountain.

"I'm honored to have been able to participate in a joint investigation with the Russians to piece together the facts of this 54-year old mystery. What has transpired is not only a clear understanding of the tragedy, but also a beautiful portrait of nine young, vibrant hikers who prematurely lost their lives in February 1959," said Eichar.

DYATLOV PASS: A CHILLING MYSTERY SOLVED?

The missing group of hikers were university students from Sverdlovsk, central Russia. Hiking and skiing was a popular recreation in mid-century USSR, enjoyed by members of all professions and both sexes on an equal basis. In January 1959, a team of seven men and two women, all aged between 20 and 24, set out on an ambitious trek in the sparsely populated Ural Mountains. They were led by an experienced hiker and skier, Igor Dyatlov. All had experience of climbing, hiking and snow travel. The team members knew each other well and had previously undertaken expeditions together. They were well equipped and planned their route in advance.

World Mysteries - Dyatlov Pass - World's Unsolved Mysteries

When they arrived in the region, they met an older hiker who asked to tag along. He was an army veteran who had planned to ski in the area and had found he could not coordinate with his own group. The students agreed to let him join them. Just before the final leg of the expedition, Yuri Yudin had to withdraw due to a painful attack of rheumatism. He decided to return and said goodbye to his nine companions. Yudin was the only member of the party to survive.

The party entered the wilderness and never returned.

As searchers discovered bodies, each find deepened the mystery. The bodies of the hikers were widely dispersed and all were poorly dressed. Only one had a hat and all were missing shoes. Two students were found at the treeline, frozen beside the remains of a camp fire made of cedar branches pulled from a tree. They had died of hypothermia yet there were unburnt branches next to them. Some of their clothes had been cut. Other hikers seemed to have been attempting to return to the tent when they died. Five bodies were found but deep snow and absence of tracks hampered the search for the remaining four hikers. There was no hope of finding them alive.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, by Donnie Eichar, is published by Chronicle Books.

Investigators studied the hikers’ diaries and photographic film in their cameras. It seems the expedition was a model of its kind. Dyatlov was a stickler for discipline and the expedition had followed guidelines to the letter, keeping meticulous records. On their last day the hikers had experienced bad weather and camped early near a ridge on the flanks of Dead Mountain. It was calculated that whatever had happened to the group must have taken place after dark, between the pitching of the tent and the evening meal. 

Had the camp been attacked? There were local Mansi tribesmen who herded reindeer and hunted in the local forests. Perhaps an animal had attacked. Forensic analysis of the tent showed that it had not been ripped but cut – from the inside. What had so alarmed the students that they had slashed their way out of the tent in order to run out – half-clothed – into a moonless night of strong winds and drifting snow? It seemed incomprehensible to investigators that the group had considered it safer to run away from the camp rather than remain there.