The Dyatlov Pass incident refers to the unsolved deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union (now Russia) between 1 February and 2 February 1959. The experienced trekking group, who were all from the Ural Polytechnical Institute, had established a camp on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl in an area now named in honor of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov. During the night, something caused them to tear their way out of their tents and flee the campsite while inadequately dressed for heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures.After the group's bodies were discovered, an investigation by Soviet Union authorities determined that six had died from hypothermia while the other three showed signs of physical trauma. One victim had a fractured skull; two others had major chest fractures. Additionally, another team member was missing her tongue and eyes. The investigation concluded that an "unknown compelling force" had caused the deaths. Numerous theories have been put forward to account for the unexplained deaths, including animal attacks, hypothermia, avalanche, infrasound-induced panic, military involvement, or some combination of these.
What's your theory?
You need:
- an explanation of the initial threat that drove them from the tent (avalanche, animal, etc)
- a timeline of events, fitting the clues and evidence, that explains what happened between their flight from camp and their deaths
I've always been in the "they heard an avalanche" camp. But figuring out the order of events that happened afterward is trickier, not to mention the counterarguments against avalanche.
