History's Greatest Mysteries: The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Written by Scott Edwards

There are always reports of hikers going missing in remote areas, and most of the time they are found with a reasonable explanation as to what happened to them. But the Dyatlov Pass Incident that took place in 1959 still has many questions left to be answered. With all of the evidence that was brought to light in the late nineties when most of the documents were released surrounding what happened to the hikers, there are several things missing which gives us more questions than answers. So, let’s take a step back in time and give the Dyatlov Pass Incident a look and see what theories you might want to believe about what might have happened on one terrible night in February 1959.

Setting up a ski trek across the northern Urals in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, teacher Igor Dyatlov gathered his group of nine students and graduates to go with him. With the goal of reaching Otorten Mountain, a category 3 hike, all of his group were experienced hikers and ready to move out. During their ascent up the mountain, one of the members, Yuri Yudin was forced to turn back due to illness and never heard from his group again. With the promise of a telegram when returning to the base camp, Dyatlov did not plan on what would happen to his other members, much less that none of them would be making it off of the mountain alive.

Not getting word from Dyatlov that the group had made it back safe and sound, on February 20th, a search party was formed and headed up the mountain. What they found would lead to the mystery surrounding this incident.  Locating the original camp site, the group took note that the main tent was cut open from the inside and footprints led to their first discovery of the hiker’s bodies. Finding two bodies that appeared to be frozen to death, it is noted that the two were wearing next to no cold weather gear, they were only in their underwear with no boots to keep warm from the subzero temperatures. It did appear that there was a fire set by the tree they were found under, and the tree showed signs of being climbed as branches were broken off up to fifteen feet high. 

Moving further from camp, three more victims were located under a couple feet of snow and were said to be facing the direction of camp. With no visible injuries, it was determined that they all froze to death as well. But still they were not dressed to be in the cold climate, granted they wore a little bit more than the first two that were found, but not enough to say alive for that much longer.

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Moving further down by a ravine, the final four bodies of the group were discovered and these ones lead to what is truly puzzling. These bodies had wounds, unlike the previous ones found, with a couple fractured skulls and massive internal injuries.  But what was interesting about these finds was that there was no external trauma found on the bodies that could have caused their internal injuries. One of the women from the group was also found with her face torn up, since she was missing her eyes, lips and tongue, and many of the bodies were discovered with a change in their skin pigmentation and their hair color.

Getting all of the victims off of the mountain and giving them a proper burial, the mountain was closed for three years. No real investigation was started to find out what really happened to these poor hikers, and autopsies were not performed on the ones that were deemed to have frozen to death. This all leads to all sorts of questions and when the official files were released, since there were plenty of things that seemed to be missing from the reports and more questions are raised as to what could be getting covered up. Why would experienced hikers cut their way out of their tent in subzero temperatures without proper clothing?  What would have caused them to separate so far away from their camp? Why was their skin and hair pigmentation changed when located on the mountain? What could have caused the internal injuries and how were there no signs of blunt force trauma on their bodies? How would some of the clothes get doused with radiation?

With all of these questions that really have not been answered, here are the popular theories as to what happened to the group.

Avalanche – This seems to be the most popular explanation as to what happened during the hikers last night. If an avalanche came down and knocked their tent down, the only way to escape would be to cut their way out. That could explain why not everyone was fully clothed when they left the tent, however, that does not explain why the tent was still found standing and no evidence was found in the camp site or the surrounding areas that an avalanche took place. Even with the bodies that suffered internal injuries that resulted in their deaths, a wall of snow would have left some extra scarring on their bodies somehow. Combined with the fact that their footprints were still found clear as day outside of the camp, this explanation gives little to no closure as to what happened.

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UFOs – According to other groups on the mountain during that same time frame, fireballs were spotted in the sky. This was one of the top UFO spots in the country for some time and it was not out of the ordinary for these lights to be seen.  There is little evidence to prove or disprove that alien invaders could have been involved in what happened to the group, especially since their flying ships would have not left any trace on the snowy ground. With only the victim’s tracks being found and a discoloration on their bodies that indicated some advanced aging with grey hair and a hint of radiation, it could have been the little green men from a different planet.

Military Testing Ground – During this time frame, Russia and the United States were in the middle of the Cold War. It would not be out of the realm to think that Russia could have been testing out some of their newest inventions. The Parachute Mine is the most popular theory when it comes to this since they are set to detonate a six to ten feet above the ground, causing little damage to the ground, but inflicting massive internal injuries to organic life. I do really like this one, but I would have to believe that more of the hikers would have been affected by the blasts. And there was no report of the trees in the area having a lack of snow on them from the blasts.

Cryptozoological Event – Yeah, the Yeti. Why not since nothing else seems to make sense with what happened. The Yeti could have made its way into camp and come across the front of the tent forcing everyone to try and leave as quickly as possible. That could explain the distance from the camp that the hikers were found and even the first tree that was climbed out of fear. This is also the reasonable explanation for the three hikers that were found with the internal injuries, but I am sure that if a Yeti hit a person, they would show some sort of external injury as well. Once again, no other footprints were found around the area, but it is an interesting theory. 

A Cover Up – There is definitely something that is missing from the reports to what happened to the hikers, so something is being covered up, with the files being put into the top secret archives and the mountain being closed for three years following the discovery. But what it could be will be a question that might be answered many more years down the road as more documents are released. Yet, I doubt that what happened on the mountain was of the hikers own doing as things just don’t really add up to any of the explanations that have been given over the years.

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My Take – Now, I am not a heavy duty camper, but one thing that I do know is that the higher you get up on a mountain, the more wind you will endure, so camping on a flat uncovered section of land does not make sense for any seasoned hikers to do, especially on a mountain. Most of the time, they would find a place that would be protected from the elements, like in a wooded area where the bodies were found over a mile away from camp. The cutting of the tent from the inside also does not sit well with me, even if there is something at the entrance of a tent, you would not risk the elements getting in if you believe you can survive. The lack of clothing found on the victims implies that they left in a hurry, so something spooked them, but it did not apply to everyone in the group, which means that some of them were not surprised by whatever happened in camp and being found so far away means that they were heading back, not running away.

So there is a chance they could have stumbled on something classified. It has been noted for years that the Russian Government likes to keep a lid on everything that could put them in the news, especially UFOs and strange events. I believe there is a chance that within their hike, the group found something that they were not supposed to see, perhaps something that had to do with a nuclear weapon and their campsite was too close for comfort, that would cover the radiation on their clothes and pigment discoloration of their skin and hair. Trying to move their campsite before being discovered, four of them were able to escape while the remaining were forced to answer questions and left for dead. The campsite was taken down, the tent was slashed against the snow, since the inside and outside looked the same. The campsite was moved away from the secret area and put in the open so it would be easily found. Putting footprints in the snow leading to the victims, away from the secret area, the troops covered up their footprints and aided in the search to keep their secret safe. 

Is that what happened? Who knows, but it would answer more of the questions that have been left out there concerning what really happened. There are several ideas about what happened in the camp back in February 1959, but only those in the camp would be able to answer any questions as I am sure that whomever else was there will never speak of the event. The questions still remain as to why those who were said to have frozen to death never got autopsied and why no other investigations were ever opened to give the hiker's families some sort of closure. According to reports, the pass is opened again and I am sure that there are many people out there thinking about giving it a look and try to solve the mystery themselves and all I can say to them is to be careful, especially if you find a hidden door or cave, it could lead to something you don’t want to be a part of.

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