The incident began with a group of ten Russians who were planning to hike through the Ural Mountains from the town of Vizhai to the mountain Gora Otorten and beyond. It is important to note a couple things. First, all ten members were experienced mountain climbers and skiers, so they would have been very prepared for the elements. Second, even though they would be very prepared, it was still a very difficult journey since this was 1959. When they left Vizhai, it was January 27. The conditions were very bad: winds of 20-30 knots and the temperature was around -20°F. The lucky one was Yuri Yudin; the day after the group left, he had to return to Vizhai because he became sick. What happened between January 28 and February 2 was pieced together from diary entries and photographs found at the campsite. What happened?
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| One of the last photos of the group, taken on February 1, 1959. |
The group of nine remaining members continued on their trek toward Gora Otorten. On January 31, they stored some supplies and food, and they prepared for the climb. On February 1, they began to climb, but because of worsening conditions, the group deviated from their planned path. When they realized their mistake, instead of going to the correct path or even going down the mountain, they made camp. Sometime that night, something happened. The problem is that no one knows exactly what happened. The group was expected to make it to a telegraph station by February 12 and send a message. The leader of the group (Igor Dyatlov) had told Yuri Yudin (the one who's left the group early) that he expected to arive later than February 12, so there were no major worries when no one had arrived. Days passed, and after some insisting from relatives of the hikers, search and rescue operations began February 20.
On February 26, the camp site was found. The tent was full of snow, cut from the inside, and most of their personal belongings were left behind. There were several footprint trails that led away from the tent, down to a forest. Oddly, the footprints suggested they were made while wearing only socks or barefoot. They followed the footprints and found two of the hikers' bodies. These two were found wearing only their underwear and barefoot. Following some more footprints, three more hikers' bodies were found (one of which was Igor Dyatlov). One of these hikers had minor skull fractures, but all five of the found bodies had died of hypothermia. However, why they would leave from their tent in the middle of the night, without being fully dressed, is the biggest mystery. But it gets stranger.
The last four weren't found until May 4. They were found farther down in a ravine. They were better dressed than the ones that had been found earlier, and it seemed that the ones who died first had their clothes used by whoever was surviving at the time. However, the odd thing with these four were their injuries: one had a severely crushed skull, one had many broken ribs, and one had many broken ribs as well as missing her tongue and entire oral cavity. The most bizarre thing about this story is what was found one two of these hikers: trace radiation. That's right, two of them had radiation coming from them.
There has been no explanation as to what was the reason for their leaving the tent in the middle of the night, nor has there been an explanation as to where their injuries came from, nor has there been an explanation as to where the radiation came from. It is a fascinating mystery that has spawned conspiracy theories: fear of avalanche, native attack, military weapons testing, toxic snow, and aliens/UFO. After the incident, the area was closed for three years. The pass that the hikers were attempting to make it to has been called the Dyatlov Pass after Igor Dyatlov. The files of the incident were sealed until the 1990's, but even when they were released, some parts were still missing.
Bet you didn't know that!
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