The Dyatlov Pass Incident

[UM-Bot]

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/images/newsitems/snowcalif.jpg

Alexander Popoff: Fifty-five years of research into the case of the Dyatlov Pass incident — nine young ski hikers died on the Dead Mountain in Russia under bizarre circumstances — still does not offer a conclusive resolution to this long-standing mystery. The facts of this story are so puzzling and contradictory that as yet no theory can make them cohere into a realistic picture of those gruesome events. The Soviet investigators determined that an “insurmountable force of nature” caused the death of the ski hikers.

View: Full Article

[Perceptivum]

I recently watched a program which blamed this tragedy on the Yeti. This explanation seems more plausible.

[taniwha]

Very sad and very believable.

[badeskov]

Very sad and very believable.

Very sad and very unbelievable as presented here. This has been discussed is detail numerous times here on UM.

Cheers,

Badeskov

[Bavarian Raven]

Not this topic again... :/

Everything is easily explainable except for what scared them out of the tent, and it wasn;t an avalanche.

[taniwha]

Not this topic again... :/

Everything is easily explainable except for what scared them out of the tent, and it wasn;t an avalanche.

No, the article suggests they were killed by lightening strike. St elmos fire scared them out of their wits.

[Bavarian Raven]

Doubtful. ^

Lightening or no lightening, they would have returned to their tent if the only other option is freezing to death.

Personally I think there might have been someone(s) else on the mountain, or some un recorded military exercise going on, or some other natural phenomenon (more extreme then lightening) that was simply missed/hidden during the "investigation".

[taniwha]

Doubtful. ^

Lightening or no lightening, they would have returned to their tent if the only other option is freezing to death.

Personally I think there might have been someone(s) else on the mountain, or some un recorded military exercise going on, or some other natural phenomenon (more extreme then lightening) that was simply missed/hidden during the "investigation".

I think the theory is the lightening killed them. The chances of returning to the tent in a state of death is nil. What on earth do you mean by some natural phenomenon more extreme than lightening yet that can be simply missed?

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

I recently watched a program which blamed this tragedy on the Yeti. This explanation seems more plausible.

It does sound a little more plausible until you realize that military search and recovery personnel stated firmly that there were no tracks of any kind, animal tracks, human footprints, ski tracks, vehicle tracks, nothing.

I've participated three other time in this topic thread, and it still amazes me to this day.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Not this topic again... :/

Everything is easily explainable except for what scared them out of the tent, and it wasn;t an avalanche.

Well, I don't know if yo can explain off the fact that two victims had signs of internal injuries that were consistent with being in a car crash at 50 mph, with NO external injuries/bruising - or the woman with her tongue ripped out, or the jaundice skin etc etc and several other points, but, you are right, an avalanche did not scare them out of the tent because there simply was no avalanche

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Doubtful. ^

Lightening or no lightening, they would have returned to their tent if the only other option is freezing to death.

Personally I think there might have been someone(s) else on the mountain, or some un recorded military exercise going on, or some other natural phenomenon (more extreme then lightening) that was simply missed/hidden during the "investigation".

that's riiiiight.

looks like what ever was near or about the tent was considered a more sure death than facing the elements half naked

Edited August 19, 2014 by Earl.Of.Trumps

[Bavarian Raven]

I think the theory is the lightening killed them.

'

looks like what ever was near or about the tent was considered a more sure death than facing the elements half naked

It looks like Earl and I actually agree with something

THey didn't die right away. They froze to death and/or ran and got injured and froze to death. One of them made a fire... some of them made it the better part of a mile. If the lightening killed them, they wouldn't be so spread out, or had time to make a fire.

Coming from someone who spends a lot of time in the cold (of Canada, no less, lol) and enjoys it, I personally know how easy it is for things to go wrong. It does not take a lot of clothing (just proper clothing) to stay warm in the minus 30s, 40s, etc, etc... it'd have to be one hell of a scare to force me from the tent half naked.

Heck, maybe they were forced out at gun point or something...

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

'

It looks like Earl and I actually agree with something

THey didn't die right away. They froze to death and/or ran and got injured and froze to death. One of them made a fire... some of them made it the better part of a mile. If the lightening killed them, they wouldn't be so spread out, or had time to make a fire.

Coming from someone who spends a lot of time in the cold (of Canada, no less, lol) and enjoys it, I personally know how easy it is for things to go wrong. It does not take a lot of clothing (just proper clothing) to stay warm in the minus 30s, 40s, etc, etc... it'd have to be one hell of a scare to force me from the tent half naked.

Heck, maybe they were forced out at gun point or something...

Well I am glad someone in here that is not from South America and truly realizes what it is like in minus 30. Yeah, they - as I recall *tried* to light a fire with wet wood and failed. they did NOT run back to the tent.

that is a *big* tell.

They believe that the people were blinded because there was dry wood close to where they found the wet wood, and because the investigators say they were groping on the ground to find wood, as if they could not see.

Let's do the math:

investigators say there was a significant amount of radiation at the scene, much more than what could have been deposited there by the mantle in the gas lantern, as some seem to think was the source.

The victims skin was orange, suggesting their livers were shut down and jaundice ensued.

The victims appeared to be blinded.

there were no tracks at all of any kind around the tent.

Add it up:

Something akin to a hovering craft, like a helicopter of some kind, blasted these people with radiation.

That's all I can think of. But there is much more to try to explain than just those items.

Oh, and - again, "no tracks' -----> nobody there to force them out of the tent at gunpoint.

"Enigma" comes to mind.

[Bavarian Raven]

Oh, and - again, "no tracks' -----> nobody there to force them out of the tent at gunpoint.

Except that the "investigators" didn't find the tent until several days (if not a week or two) after they died. I know it snowed between the time they died and the time they found the bodies. Enough snow to cover up any tracks.

The radiation angle is something that has always interested me. A soviet military experiment coverup? Or an experiment that went wrong?

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

"I found the original forensic medical files of the dead tourists and when I began reading about the heavy blunt injuries, broken ribs, and skull fractures, the missing eyes and tongue, the specific burns, it struck me: They were hit by lightning."

There are many ways to bat this around, some blow the theory right out of the water.

Firstly, "lightning" does not account for the high radiation levels at the scene and on the clothing of the victims.

It also does not explain the jaundice that the people apparently had.

Lightning does not strike in temps as cold as minus 30 C

What can I say? you don't have to look very hard or very long

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Except that the "investigators" didn't find the tent until several days (if not a week or two) after they died. I know it snowed between the time they died and the time they found the bodies. Enough snow to cover up any tracks.

That simply cannot be the case. Look:

That snow is not much higher than the base of the tent

The radiation angle is something that has always interested me. A soviet military experiment coverup? Or an experiment that went wrong?

Coverup?? can't be, here's why:

When the investigation started, the first four bodies showed no real weirdness present in their deaths so Investigators went public. When the next few bodies were found, all living hell broke loose and investigators did not know how to handle the clamor from the Siberian public, showing that they never knew ahead of time what to expect. They were at a total loss to explain it all. Still are, too.

Had this been a coverup, they never would have made early revelations like they did, they simply would have called it an "avalanche" and nobody would ever have been the wiser.

No coverup.

Like I say,,, "Enigma", a most baffling enigma

[aquatus1]

It does sound a little more plausible until you realize that military search and recovery personnel stated firmly that there were no tracks of any kind, animal tracks, human footprints, ski tracks, vehicle tracks, nothing.

Eight, possibly nine, sets of tracks were found by search and rescue personnel, leading away from the tent towards the woods, but the tracks were covered up with snow beyond the lee of the hill. Still, the tracks pointed the team to the first of the bodies.

Well, I don't know if yo can explain off the fact that two victims had signs of internal injuries that were consistent with being in a car crash at 50 mph, with NO external injuries/bruising -

Also consistent with falling off the edge of a two story ravine, at the bottom of which the bodies were found.

or the woman with her tongue ripped out,

First things to go on a body are the tongue and eyes, eaten by the locals scavengers.

or the jaundice skin

All of them, of varying sizes, shape, sex, and fitness level, with identical degrees of full-body jaundice? That doesn't make sense.

In all cases, it isn't part of the original report. Indeed, a 12-year old who attended their funerals was noted to have commented on how they had "deep brown tans", apparently not knowing the sun works double-time when you're hiking in the snow.

an avalanche did not scare them out of the tent because there simply was no avalanche

that's riiiiight.

looks like what ever was near or about the tent was considered a more sure death than facing the elements half naked

That simply cannot be the case. Look:

That snow is not much higher than the base of the tent

**Geez, how did it take me 30 minutes just to find a decent link to this picture that could posted?**

Here is a picture they took of themselves the night of the big storm that kept them from continuing:

What you are calling the base of the tent is actually more towards the middle, a little less than a meter off the ground.

Edited August 20, 2014 by aquatus1

[aquatus1]

Except that the "investigators" didn't find the tent until several days (if not a week or two) after they died. I know it snowed between the time they died and the time they found the bodies. Enough snow to cover up any tracks.

Indeed. As a matter of fact, the final record the group made is from February 2nd. Their campsite was not discovered till February 26th, over three weeks later.

The radiation angle is something that has always interested me. A soviet military experiment coverup? Or an experiment that went wrong?

Neither. The radiation in that area might well be a bit higher than normal due to military tests and such, but nothing even worth mentioning in a travel brochure. The only mention of the radiation in the reports is from what is suspected to be Lyudmila Dubanina coat, which was noted to have slight traces of beta-radiation, with characteristics of isotope K-40, commonly found in labs such as the one where this testing was done.

[taniwha]

It looks like Earl and I actually agree with something

THey didn't die right away. They froze to death and/or ran and got injured and froze to death. One of them made a fire... some of them made it the better part of a mile. If the lightening killed them, they wouldn't be so spread out, or had time to make a fire.

Anyone in the vicinity not directly struck or killed by lightening will no doubt be rendered useless enough to die without warmth or medical aid. Unfortunately their fates were sealed and they probably didnt know why.

[taniwha]

"I found the original forensic medical files of the dead tourists and when I began reading about the heavy blunt injuries, broken ribs, and skull fractures, the missing eyes and tongue, the specific burns, it struck me: They were hit by lightning."

Lightning does not strike in temps as cold as minus 30 C

Are you sure about this? Electricity moves in mysterious ways.

[Bavarian Raven]

and if they were struck by lightening, there would have been burn marks most likely upon them... another thing the reports fail to mention at all.

[taniwha]

Well i dont know but the fern marks on the skin were apparently consistent with lightening strike according to the article, but you can suffer injuries just from the side effects of the earth drawing the current. Also lightning explains neatly the missing limbs and burn marks of the trees. Either way they were extremely unlucky and i think a murder scenario is far less likely.

[Bavarian Raven]

^ but lightening still doesn't explain why they didn't go bk to the tent. Chances are they wouldn't all reciece the exact same injuries from said theoretical lightening and some would have chanced returning. IMHO lightening doesn't answer all the questions / fill all the gaps in the evidence.

[Dropship]

I've read the book and watched the vids.

They pitched the tent on an "18 to 20 degree slope".

Is that steep enough to cause an avalanche?

[aquatus1]

Not the Hollywood kind you're thinking of. It's something sometimes referred to as a "slab drift". It's where a slab of packed snow kind of shifts downward, sometimes a few inches, sometimes a few yards, and then stops, still staying more or less as one slab.

If you think about it, these young people got caught out in a rapidly growing snowstorm, to the point that they found it necessary to stop and dig themselves in, literally, into almost 2 feet of snow. All night, they listened to the snow storm outside, wondering if they had over-estimated their skills and if this was their last night, and when it was over and they could finally relax a little, they heard a sudden growling rumble, and the uphlil portion of their tent suddenly gets pushed in and collapses on top of them. In a panic, thinking they are about to be buried by an avalanche, they tear their way out of their sleeping bags, cut their way out of their tent, and start running down the hill towards the woods in the middle of the night, with only whatever they managed to grab on their way out.