Dyatlov Pass Incident

The Dyatlov Pass incident is one of the more well known mysteries, and is often discussed on /x/.

The tent

The Event

The event took place on February 2nd 1959 in Russia's Ural region. Nine trekkers (seven men and two women, mostly student attending the Ural Polytechnical Institute), led by Igor Dyatlov, for whom the incident and subsequently the mountain pass itself is named, embarked on a "category III" journey from the village of Vizhai to the mountain of Otorten. On January 27th, they set off on their journey. On February 1st, the hikers began to travel through the pass but lost their way due to a snowstorm, when the group discovered that they had diverged from their route, they decided to halt on the slope of the Kholat Syakhl (Mansi for "Dead Mountain") rather than drop altitude and camp in the forested area below.

On the February 20th, a rescue group consisting of volunteers was dispatched to search for the group after they failed to send an arranged telegram declaring that they had returned safely. This telegram was arranged to be sent several days prior, but search efforts had been delayed. Six days later, the group's tent was discovered in bad condition and appeared to have been cut from the inside. The remains of two hikers were found under a large cedar tree alongside the remains of a fire. The bodies were naked apart from their underwear. Three more corpses were found between the cedar and the ruined tent. The remaining hikers were found two months later buried in meters of snow fully clothed.

Theories

Several different theories exist to explain the seemingly mysterious deaths of the Dyatlov hikers. The official statement of the Soviet authorities referred to a "compelling force", the vagueness of this expression have never been elaborated upon.

Avalanche

One theory posited that does not draw upon paranormal elements is that hikers fled from their riskily unprotected camp, fearing an oncoming avalanche.

Weapons testing

Some speculate the hikers were panicked by a weapons test being conducted in the near-by vicinity. This weapon would have likely been some kind of concussion device.