Dyatlov's team what happened to them. What really happened at the Dyatlov Pass

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The history of the Dyatlov group is one of the most mysterious incidents of the last century. And all because in the events themselves that took place on that cold night of 1959 on “Dead Mountain” there is absolutely no logic of action. For many years now, all kinds of researchers, scientists, tourists and even Hollywood screenwriters have been trying to unravel, or rather prove, that everything that happened was one big fake staging.

© From left to right: Igor Dyatlov (23 years old), Zinaida Kolmogorova (22), Rustem Slobodin (23), Yuri Doroshenko (21), Georgy Krivonischenko (23), Nikolai Thibault-Brignolle (23), Lyudmila Dubinina (20), Semyon Zolotarev (38), Alexander Kolevatov (24), Yuri Yudin (survived because he retired from the race at the beginning of the journey due to a leg injury).

On February 2, 1959, in the Northern Urals, near an unnamed pass, later named after the group commander, the Dyatlov Pass, a group of 9 young tourists, students and graduates of the Ural Polytechnic Institute, died under difficult to explain circumstances.

In the middle of the night, for some reason, the guys cut the tent from the inside and, without even having time to put on their shoes and dress, they urgently left it. Then they slowly walked 1.5 km down to the forest, where they lit a fire. Judging by the tracks, three of the group decided to return to the tent, but froze on the way. Two died near the fire from burns. And the four remaining were found with severe fractures in a ravine just below the fire.

The investigation into such an unusual case was classified, sealed and handed over to a special unit with a very vague conclusion: “It should be assumed that the cause of the death of the tourists was a natural force, which the tourists were not able to overcome.”

1. Removal of the “snow board”

At the moment, the most plausible version of what happened is considered to be a “snow board” avalanche. It occurs when the top layer of snow heats up and melts during the day, and freezes at night and literally turns into an ice blade. This layer is very fragile, sometimes only a slight external impact is enough for it to come off and fall down. What happened at night:

The guys set up a tent on the mountainside, for some reason at a very dangerous meeting point of all the winds, and at night, due to a sharp change in temperature, a “snow board” suddenly fell on them.
The 4 people furthest from the entrance to the tent received the most severe injuries. The guys jumped out of the tent (which, apparently, was reinforced concrete, since it survived an avalanche that broke the bones of tourists) with practically no clothes in fear of the “snow board” falling off again.
They dragged the wounded down the slope to take cover and light a fire. After this, those who could walk (Dyatlov, Kolmogorova and Slobodin) decided to return to the tent to get their things, but froze on the way.
It was decided to place the four with the most severe wounds in the lowland in a shelter (later, when the snow melted, their bodies were washed to the stream; they received some injuries due to scavenger animals).
The two remaining at the fire literally walked into the fire in agony, not noticing the burns due to severe frostbite.

2. Quarrel between tourists

There is a version that the cause of the tragedy could have been a domestic quarrel or a fight between guys over girls, which went so far that it led to tragic consequences.

This version may be supported by the fact that the group was formed only before entering the distance (in addition, for unclear reasons, the 10th student was unexpectedly replaced by a 38-year-old veteran with a strange, presumably “KGB” biography - Zolotarev). From the films from the cameras found at the scene of the incident, it can be seen (photos were posted by Alexey Koskin) that the group was quite friendly. But some of the participants only photographed certain people, probably with whom they had more trusting relationships. And as the group progressed, the films of several guys began to be filled with more landscapes than photographs with colleagues. In the case of ordinary people (and not people with artistic vision), this indicates an increase in some kind of psychological discomfort.
Regarding the quarrel over the girls: in not a single photograph were the girls, so to speak, the central link of the group. Often they were in the background or completely cut off, which can serve as quite significant evidence that the guys treated them primarily as athletes and did not show any pronounced sympathy.

In the center of the frame is Igor Dyatlov. To his right is Thibault-Brignolle in his signature hat. Dubinina did not fit into the frame.

In the foreground is Nikolai Thibault-Brignolle, who, judging by the surviving films, loved to be photographed. Dubinina is again only in the background.

The guys are having fun at the rest stop (from left to right: Dubinina, Krivonischenko, Thibault-Brignolle, Slobodin).

3. Weapon testing at a closed test site

According to some versions, Dyatlov’s group came under attack from some testing weapon, most likely a new or prohibited type of missile. This theory is supported by the testimony of a group of search engines, as well as Mansi living nearby, who claim to have observed certain periodically appearing luminous objects in the sky above this territory.

It was an explosion or exposure to some chemical elements that could have caused such a hasty escape of the Dyatlovites from the tent (for example, a strategic missile flew over the group and burned oxygen, causing hallucinations and partial loss of vision), and further injuries were caused by the group cleaning up traces of a weapon test. Or the explosion could have caused an avalanche.

In general, in order to preserve state secrets, the deaths of tourists were staged in extreme natural conditions. And, of course, according to the KGB there could be no testing grounds or strange moments in the investigation.

You can also add to this version words from an interview with radio operator Vladimir Lyubimov, who at that time was working in the area near the Dyatlov Pass.

“All of us radio operators were ordered to listen to the airwaves and report any suspicious conversations. And so in January or February, it’s hard to say, I monitor the air on different waves and hear some very strange negotiations in an unintelligible Aesopian language. It is only clear that something terrible happened. Of course, I reported to my superiors. And a day later I receive a command: stop wiretapping on this wavelength!”
Vladimir Lyubimov

The team leaves.

4. Meeting with foreign intelligence agents

One of the conspiracy theories - Alexei Rakitin's essay “Death on the Trail” - oddly enough, is the most elaborate version that could even be used to make a film. At first glance, everything looks far-fetched, but after reading it begins to seem that nothing else could have happened. The course of action was as follows:

Zolotarev and Krivonischenko (people with a suspicious history. The second, for example, worked at a closed nuclear enterprise) were allegedly suppliers of fake (fake because they worked under the guise of the KGB) samples of radioactive elements to foreign agents who, under the guise of tourists, were supposed to “accidentally” meet Dyatlov's group was just at the pass. Perhaps they went a little overboard with the choice of a deserted place for the operation, but let's not talk about that. The meeting was not friendly, as was hoped, but tense, as the other guys noticed the agents’ accent. The plan went wrong and the tension grew.
The agents realized that the only solution not to declassify themselves was to get rid of the guys. The easiest way to do this is in the cold, so they attacked the tent, stripped the students and calmly sent them barefoot in all four directions. The guys tried to resist, which is why all of them showed signs of beatings, and the athlete Slobodin (who had a particularly courageous and risky disposition) had purely boxing injuries. This means that he offered the greatest resistance, which is why he died first after half an hour, falling behind the group and falling into the snow.
The rest of the group slowly and arguing with each other moved to the nearest shelter - to the cedar.
Dyatlov discovered that Slobodin was missing and went after him. Didn't come back. Kolmogorova followed him. The two of us froze while searching for Slobodin.
Those who remained decided to light a fire to give a sign to those who had left behind Slobodin about their whereabouts. Four guys went into the ravine because they believed that the fire might attract the attention of the agents.
The agents actually saw the fire, to their surprise, the guys were still alive, which threatened to declassify the agents and prompted them to go to the fire for the final reprisal against the Dyatlovites.
At the cedar, agents found only two. Their torture to find out where the others were only resulted in the death of the students.
Later, the remaining four “Dyatlovites” were found, who were also tortured by agents who were already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so their injuries were the most severe. The bodies were thrown into a ravine to hide traces.

True, in winter, the place of the pass for hunting is considered completely unsuitable, and no traces of them were found during the criminal investigation, so this version disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Many associate this theory with the name of the mountain on which the tragedy occurred - Kholatchakhl, which translated from Mansi means “Mountain of the Dead” - supposedly all this is not without reason. In fact, they began to translate it this way only in 1959; before that, it was interpreted rather as “Dead Peak”, since there is nothing there.

7. The version of the only survivor of the group

Yuri Yudin is the 10th member of Dyatlov’s group, who separated from the team at the very beginning due to a leg injury. Fate saved him, but he lived his whole life, tormented by guesses about the mystery of the death of his friends. This is how he commented on the tragedy 50 years later.

“My opinion is that they were victims of a purge. They accidentally witnessed some tests and, having been poisoned, were doomed to death. That’s what investigator Ivanov told me: “They were already doomed. Definitely, you would have been 10th.” And I think that he knew the true reason for the death of the guys, and the first secretary of the regional party committee Kirilenko and the regional prosecutor also knew this reason.

He constantly reassured me. Treated me like a child. I told him that it could have been an avalanche. And he denied, saying she wasn’t there. He even told me: “When we finish the investigation, then I will gather everyone and tell them what happened.” But you have to understand that there was frost and blizzard.” And in the end he blamed it all on the hurricane. But I rule out this version. These guys were adequate in any situation. It was not so easy to confuse them all.”
Yuri Yudin

Dubinina hugs Yudin goodbye. Igor Dyatlov stands behind.

Who knows, perhaps that night on Mount Kholatchakhl there was a fierce massacre between the Masons and the Illuminati, and the guys simply found themselves caught in the crossfire. In any case, the whole truth about the fate of the Dyatlovites is only in the state department of secrets among hundreds of other classified cases, and we cannot find out the real version of this fatal puzzle.

What do you think about the versions of what happened?

The history of any country is fraught with many mysteries. We do not know whether Atlantis actually existed, for which the Egyptians built monumental and majestic pyramids, where the burials of the greatest commanders of the ancient world are located - Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. And there are a lot of such unsolved secrets. One of them is a terrible story that happened in a place that is now called “Dyatlov Pass”. What really happened here more than half a century ago?

Background

In January 1959, a group of skiers from the tourist club of the Ural Polytechnic Institute went on a hike for 16 days. During this time, they planned to travel at least 350 kilometers and climb to the tops of the Oiko-Chakur and Otorten mountains. The hike belonged to the highest category of difficulty, since its members were experienced hikers.

Place of events

The tragedy, the mystery of which has haunted researchers for several decades, occurred on the slopes of Mount Kholatchakhl, located in the Northern Urals. The mountain at the Dyatlov Pass (as the place of the tragedy is now called) is also known under another, ominous name - “mountain of the dead.” This is what they call it Mansi - representatives of a small ethnic group living in that region. Later they began to talk about it in connection with the tragic death of members of the Dyatlov expedition.

Chronicle of events

The trek of 10 group members started on January 23. From this moment the history of the Dyatlov Pass began. Six were students (including the head of the tourist group, Igor Dyatlov), three were graduates, and one was an instructor.

On the twenty-seventh, Yuri Yudin was forced to leave the route due to illness (radiculitis). He was the only surviving member of the expedition. For four days the group walked through completely deserted places. On January 31, tourists went to the upper reaches of the Auspiya River. The plan was to climb to the top of Mount Otorten and then continue the hike further, but due to strong winds that day the summit could not be reached.

On February 1, the participants of the hike set up a storage shed with some of their belongings and food and began their ascent at about 3 p.m. Having stopped at the pass, which now bears the name of Igor Dyatlov, at 17:00 in the evening the participants of the hike began to set up a tent for the night. The gentle slope of the mountain could not threaten the Dyatlovites in any way. The details of the last hours of the tourists’ lives were determined from photographs taken by the group members. After eating, they went to bed. And then something terrible happened, forcing experienced tourists to run out naked into the cold, cutting open the tent.

Search for the missing group

The mystery of the Dyatlov Pass shocked the first witnesses who arrived at the scene of the tragedy. The search for tourists began two weeks after what happened at night on the slope of Mount Dead. On February 12, they were supposed to reach the village of Vizhay - the final point of the hike. When the tourists did not appear by the appointed time, the search for them began. First, the search group went to the tent. One and a half kilometers from her, at the border of the forest, next to a small fire, two bodies were found, stripped down to their underwear. Dyatlov’s body lay 300 meters from this place.

Zina Kolmogorova was found at approximately the same distance from him. A few days later, the body of another victim, Slobodin, was found in the same area. Already in late spring, when the snow began to melt, the bodies of the remaining group members were found. The case was dropped due to the lack of any plausible versions of what happened, and the authorities called the cause of death of tourists an irresistible force of nature. Six people, according to medical experts, died from hypothermia, three from severe injuries.

Dyatlov Pass: versions of what happened

The tragedy that occurred on the Mountain of the Dead more than half a century ago was kept secret for many years during the Soviet period. If they talked about it, it was only by those who were directly involved either in what happened or in the investigation into the deaths of tourists. Of course, such conversations at that time could only be conducted in private; ordinary people should not have known about what happened in the Ural Mountains. In the 1990s, for the first time, reports of those distant events appeared in the media. The mystery of the Dyatlov Pass immediately interested many researchers. What happened on the slope of Mount Otorten went beyond an ordinary accident or natural disaster. Soon the name of the place where the young tourists died became known to everyone - “Dyatlov Pass”. Versions of the tragedy that happened grew and multiplied every day. Among them there were quite plausible attempts to explain the events that took place, and many completely fantastic assumptions. The mysterious Dyatlov Pass - what really happened? Let's look at the current versions of the tragedy in more detail.

Version 1 - avalanche. Proponents of this theory believe that an avalanche hit the tent with the people in it. Because of this, it collapsed under the load of snow, and the trapped tourists had to cut it from the inside. There was no point in being in it anymore, since it no longer saved me from the cold. Hypothermia led to the fact that the subsequent actions of people were inadequate. This led to their death. Severe injuries found in several people were the result of the avalanche. This version has many shortcomings: neither the tent nor its fastenings were moved. Moreover, the ski poles stuck into the snow next to her remained untouched. If tourists were injured as a result of an avalanche, how to explain the lack of blood in the tent? Meanwhile, one of the dead had a depressed skull fracture.

Dyatlov Pass - what really happened? We continue to consider the most plausible versions of the terrible tragedy that happened half a century ago.

Version 2 - tourists became victims of some missile tests conducted by the military. This theory is supported by the slight radioactivity of the clothes of the victims and the strange orange color of their skin. But there was no training ground, airfield or any structures belonging to military units nearby.

Version 3, which tries to explain what happened at the Dyatlov Pass, also implies military involvement in the deaths of tourists. Perhaps they became unwanted witnesses to some secret tests being carried out in that area, and a decision was made to liquidate the group.

Version 4 - among the group members were representatives of the KGB, who carried out a secret operation to transfer radioactive materials to foreign intelligence agents. They were exposed, and the entire group was eliminated by spies. The disadvantage of this version is the difficulty of carrying out such an operation far from populated areas.

Mysterious Dyatlov Pass - mystery solved?

All versions that try to explain what happened to members of a group of tourists in 1959 have significant shortcomings. But there is a simpler explanation given by experienced climbers and tourists. The sleeping guys could have been frightened by a layer of snow falling on the tent. Deciding that it was an avalanche, they could leave the shelter in a hurry, having first cut the wall of the tent. Retreating to the forest, they managed to stick ski poles into the snow so that they could later find a place to spend the night. And then, in the beginning of a snowstorm, three strayed from the group and went to the stream, to the cliff. The snow canopy they fell on could not bear the weight and collapsed. Having fallen from a great height, all three were fatally injured. The rest died, as the investigation established, from hypothermia. This is the most rational explanation of the mysterious events that occurred with the participants of the hike.

The 1959 tragedy in the Northern Urals in cinema

Many documentaries and feature films are devoted to the mysterious events that happened with the Dyatlov group half a century ago. Unfortunately, in most cases the emphasis is not on attempts to seriously investigate what happened, but on the mysterious and terrible events of that night. Among the latest interesting films on this topic is the investigative documentary film “Dyatlov Pass. The mystery is revealed,” created in 2015 with the participation of the REN TV channel. The creators of the film not only tried to find an explanation for the tragedy that happened, but also presented the viewer with several new versions of events.

Conclusion

So far, researchers do not have access to secret archives that may contain answers to all questions. For many enthusiasts, the Dyatlov Pass still remains cherished. What really happened that night from February 1 to 2 with a group of young tourists? While all information about this tragedy is kept secret, any of the versions discussed above has the right to exist. Let's hope that someday the story of the Dyatlov Pass will be completed.

The only survivor of the group, Yuri Yudin, died in 2013. He was the first to identify the belongings of his dead comrades, but subsequently did not take an active part in the investigation. According to the will, the urn with Yudin’s ashes was placed in Yekaterinburg in the mass grave of seven participants in the ill-fated 1959 campaign.

The small mountain Kholat-Syakhyl in the north of the Urals has long been notorious. Its name in the language of the local aborigines – Mansi – means “Mountain of the Dead”. The legend tells about 9 hunters who died here in ancient times.

Since then, a curse has hung over the mountain: if 9 people find themselves on it, they will die. The Mansi laughed at the superstitions, but in February 1959 the legend recalled itself: on the mountainside, for unknown reasons, 9 young tourists, led by Igor Dyatlov, died. The mystery of this tragedy has not yet been solved... Judging by the latest entries in the diaries of the participants in the campaign, Dyatlov’s group reached the Kholat-Syakhyl slope on February 1 and settled down for the night. What happened next is unknown. Rescuers found the group's tent with food, equipment and... shoes. Judging by the remaining traces, the tourists suddenly left their shelter without having time to put on their shoes or even get fully dressed. After a long search, rescuers found the bodies; they were located almost in a straight line from the tent for more than 1.5 kilometers. Everyone was struck by the unnatural skin color of the deceased - orange-red. Some of the bodies were terribly disfigured: one of the girls had no eyes and tongue, two young men had broken ribs, and a third had a broken skull. What happened?

Avalanche?

According to one version, tourists left the tent due to a sudden avalanche falling from the mountainside. A layer of snow fell during the night, catching the group by surprise. This explains the severe injuries of several tourists, the disarray of clothing (they grabbed the first thing that came to hand) and the hasty evacuation from the danger zone. The version is good, but... implausible. None of the rescuers, among whom there were many experienced climbers, saw any traces of an avalanche or a snow “slab” that crushed the tent. On the contrary, the tourists chose a good place for the tent and set it up professionally. It could not collapse on the sleeping “Dyatlovites” - there was simply no avalanche danger.

Conflict with hunters?

The first suspects were local Mansi hunters. According to investigators, they quarreled with tourists and attacked them. Some were seriously injured, others managed to escape and then died from hypothermia. Several Mansi were arrested, but they categorically denied their guilt. It is not known what their fate would have been (the law enforcement agencies of those years mastered the art of obtaining recognition to perfection), but the examination established that the cuts on the tourists’ tent were made not from the outside, but from the inside. It was not the attackers who were “breaking” into the tent, but the tourists themselves were trying to get out of it. In addition, no extraneous traces were found around the tent; the supplies remained untouched (and they were of considerable value to the Mansi). Therefore, the hunters had to be released.

A mistake by the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?

One version of conspiracy theorists: the Dyatlov group was liquidated by a special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was pursuing the escaped prisoners (it must be said that there were indeed quite a few “zones” in the northern Urals). At night, special forces encountered tourists in the forest, mistook them for “prisoners” and killed them. At the same time, for some reason the mysterious special forces did not use either bladed weapons or firearms: there were no stab or bullet wounds on the bodies of the victims. In addition, it is known that in the 50s. escaped prisoners at night in the wilderness were not usually pursued - the risk was too great. They handed over directions to the authorities in the nearest settlements and waited: you couldn’t last long in the forest without supplies; willy-nilly, the fugitives had to go to “civilization.” And most importantly! Investigators requested information about escapes of “prisoners” from the surrounding “zones.” It turned out that there were no escapes at the end of January - beginning of February. Therefore, there was no one for the special forces to catch on Kholat-Syakhyl.

Elimination of witnesses?

But conspiracy theorists are not appeased: there were no special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which means there were “special forces of the KGB,” and the Dyatlov group was eliminated as unwanted witnesses to the testing of some secret weapon. But why does the almighty KGB create so many difficulties for itself: allow dozens of rescuers to the test site for testing “superweapons”, allow them to thoroughly examine the area? Isn’t it easier to announce that the tourists were covered by an avalanche and not allow any investigations? If there were no legends about the “mystery of the Dyatlov group” that excite the imagination then, only a few lines of the newspaper obituary would remain. Since 1959, many people have died in the mountains; how many do we remember today?

Agents of a foreign intelligence agency?

And here is the most “exotic” version: it turns out that the Dyatlov group was liquidated... by foreign agents! Why? To disrupt the KGB operation: after all, the student tour was only a cover for the “controlled supply” of radioactive clothing to enemy agents. The explanations for this amazing theory are not without wit. It is known that investigators found traces of a radioactive substance on the clothes of the three dead tourists. Conspiracy theorists connected this fact with the biography of one of the victims, Georgy Krivonischenko. He worked in the closed city of nuclear scientists Ozersk (Chelyabinsk-40), where plutonium for atomic bombs was produced. Samples of radioactive clothing provided invaluable information for foreign intelligence.

Krivonischenko, who worked for the KGB, was supposed to meet with enemy agents at Mount Kholat-Syakhyl and hand over radioactive “material” to them. But Krivonischenko made a mistake on something, and then the enemy agents, covering their tracks, destroyed the entire Dyatlov group. The killers acted in a sophisticated manner: threatening with weapons, but not using them (they didn’t want to leave traces), they drove the young people out of the tent into the cold without shoes, to certain death. The saboteurs waited for some time, then followed in the footsteps of the group and brutally finished off those who were not frozen. Thriller, and nothing more! Now let's think about it. How could the KGB officers plan a “controlled delivery” in a remote area that was not controlled? Where they could neither observe the operation nor protect their agent? Absurd. And where did the spies even come from among the Ural forests, where was their base? Only the invisible man will not “show up” in small surrounding villages: their residents know each other by sight and immediately pay attention to strangers. Why did the adversaries, who had planned a clever staging of the death of tourists from hypothermia, suddenly seem to go mad and begin to torture their victims - breaking ribs, tearing out tongues, eyes? And how did these invisible maniacs manage to escape the persecution of the omnipresent KGB? Conspiracy theorists have no answer to all these questions.

Testing a nuclear weapon or ballistic missile?

Having dealt with the enemy’s machinations, let’s consider the version of the secret test of nuclear weapons in the area where the Dyatlov group was located (this is how they try to explain the traces of radiation on the clothes of the victims). Alas, from October 1958 to September 1961, the USSR did not conduct any nuclear explosions, observing the Soviet-American agreement on a moratorium on such tests. Both we and the Americans carefully monitored the observance of “nuclear silence.” In addition, during an atomic explosion, traces of radiation would have been on all members of the group, but the examination recorded radioactivity only on the clothes of three tourists. Some “experts” explain the unnatural orange-red color of the skin and clothing of the deceased by the fall of a Soviet R-7 ballistic missile in the Dyatlov group’s campsite: it supposedly frightened the tourists, and the fuel vapors that ended up on the clothes and skin caused such a strange reaction. But rocket fuel does not “color” a person, but kills instantly. Tourists would have died near their tent. In addition, as the investigation established, no rocket launches were carried out from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the period from January 25 to February 5, 1959.

Meteorite?

The forensic medical examination, examining the nature of the injuries inflicted on the group members, concluded that they were “very similar to injuries caused by an air blast wave.” While examining the area, investigators found traces of fire on some trees. It seemed as if some unknown force was selectively influencing both the dead people and the trees. At the end of the 1920s. Scientists were able to assess the consequences of such a natural phenomenon. This happened in the area where the Tunguska meteorite fell. According to the recollections of the participants of that expedition, the heavily burnt trees at the epicenter of the explosion could have been located next to the survivors. Scientists could not logically explain such a strange “selectivity” of the flame. Investigators in the Dyatlov group’s case were also unable to find out all the details: on May 28, 1959, a command came from “from above” to close the case, classify all materials and hand them over to a special archive. The final conclusion of the investigation turned out to be very vague: “It should be assumed that the cause of the death of tourists was a natural force that people were not able to overcome.”

The mystery of the Dyatlov group has never been solved. From time to time, researchers climb the "Mountain of the Dead" in search of answers. But even the most desperate extreme sports enthusiasts never dare to go to Kholat-Sakhyl in a group of 9 people.

The death of a group of travelers who conquered one of the Khanty-Mansiysk peaks became one of the most mystical incidents in Russia. The place of death is now known by the name of the leader of the campaign - Dyatlov Pass. What really happened is one of the most baffling mysteries of the 20th century.

A brief excursion into what happened

The sequence of events of the most mystical of Soviet tragedies is as follows:

At the end of January 1959, a group of students from Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk) set off to conquer the Ural peaks;
On January 25, they reached the village of Vizhay, where they stayed at a hotel;
The next day they were picked up by a truck and taken to the village. They spent the night in the hostel;
The ski trip begins on January 27. One of the expedition members, Yuri Yudin, was forced to return home for health reasons;
Four days later, tourists approached the top of Kholat Syakhyl and unsuccessfully tried to climb it;
On the evening of February 1, it was decided to stop for a break and continue trying tomorrow;
After mysterious events that took place at night, all members of the expedition were dead.

All events were reconstructed from diary entries. The investigation and search operation began only 10 days after the death, when the students were supposed to descend to Vizhay.

Dyatlov Pass: versions

Until now, no one knows for sure what exactly happened in the Northern Ural on the night of February 1-2, 1959.

The uncertainty surrounding a terrible tragedy gives rise to many guesses :

According to residents of the surrounding villages, that night turned out to be especially windy. Strong air currents could blow away tents and freeze people alive;
In the early 1990s, there was a popular theory about large masses of snow suddenly falling on unsuspecting people. Thus, the physical damage on the body of some participants in the campaign became clear;
The tent could not withstand the snow cap and suffocate its occupants;
Meeting with a dangerous predator (bear, wolf, etc.);
The climbers became victims of one of the atmospheric phenomena little known to science. Candidates for this could be ball lightning or a thunderstorm that occurs in severe frost.

Although the bodies of the travelers did not have puncture wounds or bullet wounds, the theory of human impact was developed along with the others.

Who killed the Dyatlov group?

One of the popular versions is the inventive and cold-blooded murder of ordinary tourists for various reasons.

The investigation and journalists suggest that:

The crime could have been committed by criminals who escaped from prison. The prosecutor's office dismisses this possibility due to the lack of information about escapes in the surrounding area during that period;
Representatives of the indigenous people of those places - the Mansi - could understand the hand on the unarmed. However, this small nation was not noticed in interethnic conflicts with the Russians;
A quarrel between the participants of the campaign. It is possible that a fight could have broken out due to alcohol abuse or a love polygon;
Attack by police officers involved in poaching. Thus, they got rid of unnecessary witnesses to the crime. Thanks to the availability of administrative resources, the fact of the brawl could be successfully forgotten;
Conspiracy theory. Dyatlov's comrades were none other than undercover state security officers on a mission. Foreign spies who came to the meeting “removed” the intelligence officers.

Speculation about an alien invasion

In September 2016, news appeared about the discovery of debris of unknown origin at the pass.

This discovery became the reason for another journalistic investigation:

According to interviewed military pilots, the fragment is not related to any known model of aircraft;
The part cannot be recognized as a spare part for a rocket or jet apparatus;
Specialists from the Moscow Aviation Institute refused to give specific explanations on this matter. The scientists cited the need for more research on this topic;
Journalists from Komsomolskaya Pravda made a risky assumption about the extraterrestrial nature of the artifact. The suspicious silence of representatives of the Ministry of Defense forces us to favor this version. Probably, the latter have information about visits to these places by an extraterrestrial civilization.

It should be noted that such insinuation on the theme of the supernatural is not the first of its kind. Theories have been expressed regarding Bigfoot, time holes, etc.

More than half a century has passed since the incident, but public curiosity does not think of cooling its ardor. The site of what happened today is a lucrative “amusement park” for the unsophisticated public. An all-terrain tour of the place of death can cost several tens of thousands of rubles.

Professionals found an inexhaustible source of inspiration in the incident. The number of works of art of varying quality on this topic reaches double digits, and the activity does not weaken over time:

The most famous literary works about the incident belong to the pen of Yuri Yarovoy, Anna Matveeva and Donny Eichar;
In 2015-2017, the Komsomolskaya Pravda publication published a series of reports about the incident. However, the quality of journalistic work caused a storm of criticism;
The Rossiya 1 TV channel produced a documentary that received equally critical reviews.

However, the most famous creation is the Russian-American film “The Dyatlov Pass Incident” (with subtitles):

Film by Renny Harlin

The 2013 film by Hollywood director Renny Harlin was also intended to shed light on the events of many years ago. The horror film put the tragedy in an unusual light and made people talk about it again. But the viewing experience was spoiled by numerous blunders:

Free handling of real events. According to the script, all the tourists were discovered at the same time, and the name of the main character sounds like Peter. Both are not true;
The plot is generously stuffed with spreading cranberries and clichés. Russians behave as they should behave according to American stereotypes;
All residents of the Urals speak English perfectly;
Despite the high level of radiation according to the dosimeter, a group of searchers stayed there for the night;
The involvement of the insidious Soviet secret services is far-fetched;
The computer graphics don't stand up to criticism.

As a result, the film's distribution fate was sealed, and critics from Rotten Tomatoes gave it only 53 out of 100%.

Accidents involving travelers in the mountains are, unfortunately, not uncommon news. But all of them do not show even a hundredth of the interest that the ill-fated Dyatlov Pass has. What really happened is known only to those who know the killer of Kennedy and Princess Diana.

Video: what happened at the Dyatlov Pass: the end of the story

In this documentary, historian Stanislav Lozhkin will talk about the final version of what happened at that ill-fated pass in the Ural Mountains:

The world knows a huge number of stories related to the unexplained death of people. These include the situation that occurred in the north of the Urals in 1959, when for unknown reasons a group of skiers died. Disputes about the reasons for what happened are still ongoing.

What is this Dyatlov Pass?

This is the name of the area where the terrible tragedy occurred. A group of skiers of 10 people (2 girls), members of the club of the Ural Polytechnic Institute, went on a hike on January 23, 1959, which was supposed to last 16 days. It was planned to walk at least 350 km and climb Mount Oiko-Chakur and Otorten. The route was of increased complexity, but it is worth noting that the tourists had extensive experience in such hikes, so no one feared for their lives.

Six students, three graduates and one instructor went on a hike to the Dyatlov Pass. After four days, one of the participants stopped the hike due to sciatica. According to the journal kept by the group, on January 31 they reached the upper reaches of the Auspiya River. The next day they installed a storage shed and at three o'clock in the evening they began climbing the mountain. Two hours later they stopped at a pass to pitch a tent and spend the night. The latest events concerning the life of the group were reconstructed thanks to the photographs they took. The exact events that occurred that night are still unknown.

When discussing what the Dyatlov Pass is, what really happened and who is to blame for it, it should be noted that the search for tourists began 14 days after the incident. First, the researchers found a tent and, one and a half kilometers away, found two corpses, stripped down to their underwear. After another 300 m, the body of Dyatlov, who was the leader of the group, was found, and the body of one of the girls was found nearby. A few days later another body was discovered. The remaining members of the group were found in late spring. Six people from the group died from hypothermia, and three from injuries.

Where is the Dyatlov Pass?

The place where the tragedy occurred is located on the slopes of Mount Kholatchakhl at an unnamed height of 905. The pass stands somewhat apart in the east of the Main Ural Range. A map of the location of the Dyatlov Pass and the group’s route is presented below. Local Mansi residents call this area “the mountain of the dead.” After the tragedy occurred, they began to name the pass in honor of the lost Dyatlov expedition.

What happened at the Dyatlov Pass?

The terrible and inexplicable incident caused the emergence of a huge number of versions of what happened. Understanding the topic - the Dyatlov Pass, what actually happened that night, it is important to note that the expedition members were found with various injuries: abrasions, bruises, burns, frostbite, fractures, hemorrhages, and one girl had her eyeballs and tongue cut out . The criminal case was closed on May 28, 1959 due to the lack of evidence of a crime. To explain why people died at the Dyatlov Pass, the following facts were established:

Young people got out of the tent by cutting a hole in the tent.
Warm clothes and even shoes were left in place.
According to the nature of the tracks, it was established that the group walked at a calm pace one after another.
Investigators believe that part of the group made a hole near the tree and lit a fire, but still froze. Others fell from the slope, and some decided to return to the tent to get their things, but froze along the way.

Dyatlov Pass - latest versions

Although a lot of time has passed since the tragedy, the topic concerning the causes of death of people still remains popular. New versions appear regularly or old versions are updated, but so far the secret of the Dyatlov Pass has not been revealed. Among the most frequently discussed options for death are the following: bear attack, exposure to infrasound, nuclear weapons testing, and murder by KGB agents.

Dyatlov Pass - avalanche version

This is the most popular version of what happened, and it was described by the scientist E. Buyanov. It is believed that a “snow board” descended on the group and the tourists themselves were to blame for this, as evidenced by a number of facts:

There was a strong wind that day, and the snow formed a dense crust, which was located on a loose surface. To put up the tent, digging and deepening was done. At night, part of the snow crust separated and fell on people.
The tourists cut the tent to get out. They were unable to dig up their things and for cover they decide to go down to the forest.
The scientist explains the presence of eight pairs of footprints by the fact that a man with a broken head was carried in his arms.
The mystery of the Dyatlov Pass was told in the film “Unfinished Route” and it is stated that the students lit a fire near a large cedar tree.
They dug a shelter in the snow and built a deck for the wounded, but they still froze.
The three people decide to go back to get their things, but freeze along the way. Those who remain by the fire sit close to the fire to warm themselves, so they get burned.

Dyatlov Pass - the Yeti hypothesis

One of the common versions concerns an attack by Bigfoot, and several facts have been cited to prove this. In contrast, scientists cite information from the criminal case that no other traces were found.

People cut the tent to protect themselves from attack and to escape from the monster as quickly as possible, which is why they are missing some of their clothes.
The Dyatlov Pass tragedy is associated with numerous injuries and this is explained by a skirmish with the yeti, which, according to the testimony of other people, is a powerful creature.
The fire was a defense against the attack of the animal, which is considered to be the Yeti.

Dyatlov Pass - spy version

Some of the assumptions seem strange, but many believe in them. It is believed that three members of the group were undercover KGB officers who were supposed to meet with foreign intelligence agents along the route and give them fake samples of radioactive materials. Explaining what happened at the Dyatlov Pass, it is assumed that the spies were exposed, and it was decided to remove the witnesses.

The participants were thrown out of the tent without clothes so that they would freeze and death would appear natural.
Trying to resist, the expedition members fought for their lives, which explains the presence of injuries.
When the group separated, the agents killed them individually using torture and hand-to-hand combat techniques.

Dyatlov Pass - man-made version

Ural researchers claim that that night a strong explosion occurred near the tent, which led to the death of people. One of the researchers suggested that it could be the R-7 missile, which was being tested at that time. Frightened by what had happened, the Dyatlovites began to run away and, falling, received their injuries. As evidence that a man-made disaster occurred at the Dyatlov Pass, fragments of rockets and aircraft were found during the expedition. There is an assumption that the young people were poisoned by chemicals.

Dyatlov Pass - fireballs

Another conclusion arose based on evidence that in 1959, in the area near the mountains where the expedition took place, various people saw luminous balls that moved across the sky and glowed brightly. There are several versions about the Dyatlov Pass and what actually happened that night:

Members of the search group said that they saw fireballs at the Dyatlov Pass, which caused confusion in everyone’s minds and people did not understand what they were doing. Tourists may also have died. After reporting the emergency, they were told that this was testing a new type of fuel and there was no danger.
There is a version that the glowing balls were unsuccessfully launched rockets.
There is an assumption that the tourists were killed the day before due to a rocket explosion, and then they were dropped from a helicopter at the pass.

Dyatlov Pass - Mansi

One of the very first versions of the investigation was an attack by the local Mansi population. It was believed that the death of the students at Dyatlov Pass was due to the fact that they walked through places that the Mansi consider sacred, so the pagans severely punished the people. There were versions that they used hypnosis and various psychotropic methods of influence. Research has shown that there are no sacred Mansi places on the mountains where the tourists passed, and no traces of other people left on the night at the Dyatlov Pass were found.

Dyatlov Pass - black diggers

Among the versions of the death of the group, another one is widespread, according to which the criminals killed people, believing that they had gold with them.

This is explained by the fact that in the last settlement, together with Yudin, they visited a warehouse of geological samples, where they took several stones and these were chalcopyrites and pyrites.
There are sources that indicate that the students' backpacks were filled with gold. Rumors reached the prisoners who were in the village at that time.
According to another version of why they died at the Dyatlov Pass, one of the black diggers hid valuables in tourists’ backpacks so that they would take them outside the village.
Understanding the topic of the Dyatlov Pass, what really happened and who is to blame, some researchers believe that tourists stumbled upon black diggers who decided to remove the witnesses.
Mansi, who are participating in the search operation, claim that other people followed in the footsteps of the group and perhaps these were the same prisoners.

Dyatlov Pass - UFO

There are people who believe that an attack by an unidentified flying object is to blame. The version was proposed by Yu. Yakimov, who claimed that he himself saw the glowing plate, but only in 2002. They say the following about UFOs and the Dyatlov Pass:

The object that descended to the ground reacted to tourists and illuminated them with bright light. After that, several bright balls separated from him and approached the group.
It is believed that the last photo shows glowing objects. Scientists believe that this photo was taken accidentally while changing film.
People were injured due to the shock wave impulse, which was sent by glowing objects. This explains the bone fractures and the integrity of the soft tissues.
Yakimov believes that the UFO sought to eliminate witnesses who saw its research.

Psychics about the Dyatlov Pass

In the 13th season of the famous show “Battle of Psychics,” a test was conducted where the participants had to tell what happened to them without seeing photographs of students participating in the hike. The mystery of the Dyatlov Pass tragedy has not been solved, since psychics offered several different versions.

Vit Mano said that it was all due to a quarrel between the guys over virgin girls. He claimed that the tourists were under the influence of psychotropic drugs.
Fatima Khadueva believes that the death at the Dyatlov Pass was staged, since the young people learned some kind of state secret.
Valentina Serdyuk suggested that the students were frightened by a round and bright object.
Elena Golunova believes that otherworldly forces are to blame.
Dmitry Volkhov proposed a version that the tourists ended up in an ancient cemetery and the spirits took revenge on them.