Russia announced the re-opening of the Dyatlov Pass Incident in February, 2019. In March they sent an investigative team to the site to recreate the scene.
Some have hope that new evidence will come to light and that with today's more modern techniques, a definitive answer may be found. Others, looking beyond the hopeful headlines feel differently. Even some of the headlines lessened hopes.
"Dyalov Pass Cold Case Reopened by Russian Police, Who Say Nine Skiers Died of 'Natural Phenomena'". This was the headline for abc.net.au on February 5, 2019. While this may be true, it indicated a narrowed investigation.
It was stated that this would not be a criminal investigation. That immediately removes several of the more popular theories : KGB or CIA agents, escaped prisoners, the Mansi, or the Russian Army.
Russian government and law enforcement structures are different from what many people are familiar with. Only prosecutors are authorized to investigate a case as old as this one.
"The procedural deadlines have expired for all the other competent bodies, but this is not the case with prosecution agencies. Apart from that, a new law has come into force that authorizes the prosecution to commission special expert evaluations as part of a probe." -- Alexander Kurennoi, official representative of Russia's Prosecutor General.
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| Cover of original official report |
Between March 10 and March 20, employees of the Sverdlovsk region Prosecutor's Office joined geodesy experts and employees of the emergencies ministry and journeyed to the site of the mysterious deaths of the nine hikers. They were authorized to conduct nine different examinations which was to include a forensic probe to try to fill in "a number of blank spots". Kurennoi also mentioned in the press conference that there were currently 75 different theories that have been constructed through the years. However, he informed those asking that only 3 of the theories will be addressed as the "most likely" explanations.
"All of them are somehow connected with natural phenomena. Crime is out of the question. There is not a single proof, even an indirect one, to favor this [criminal] version. It was either an avalanche, a snow slab or a hurricane."
I addressed each of these theories in my recent multi-part series previously.
The Avalanche Theory and The Snow Slab : [from part 3b - The Dyatlov Pass Incident]
The avalanche theory is one of the more popular ones. It is less conspiracy induced and allows Mother Nature to play a key role. But, in fact, Kholat Syakhl is not a very tall mountain and is not very steep. And the diaries of the hikers talk of a fairly thin snow cover.
It is further supposed that in this type of event and it being in the night that Dyatlov and the others became confused. And instead of heading to the Auspiya River, they wound up in the Lozva River Valley. The [alleged] climbing of the tree may have been two-fold then. To observe the slope where the camp was to watch for more snow shift and to try to determine their location and which way to travel.
It is further theorized that during the 4 weeks from when the avalanche hit and the campsite was discovered, the snow from the event would have been blown away by the strong winds. This would have left no sign of the disastrous natural occurrence.
A few problems with this does occur. The theory includes that the injuries incurred by the hikers were due to this avalanche. Firstly, the footprints show that each member walked individually down the slope. Walker, not ran. Not scurried. And if the hikers had been that severely injured inside the tent, it is highly improbable that they walked that distance without support of some type.
These were also experienced hikers/skiers having taken this type of expedition before. They would have known that freezing to death was a more likely outcome than a second avalanche coming down the mountain. Even if they were unable to reset the tent, they would have stopped to get dressed in at least their warmest coats, footwear and clothing. It would have taken very little extra time to snatch up some food and blankets.
There is also no evidence of an avalanche strike at the entrance of the tent. That part of the tent was still upright. Only the middle was collapsed. That most likely was due to the later weight of the snow. There would have been no reason
for them to have cut their way out of the side of the tent.
To further underscore the capabilities of the hikers on that trip, Petr Bartolomiy, a friend of Igor Dyatlov, spoke to the reporters. "A year prior [to the incident], we went to the subpolar Urals in an expedition, where the conditions were much more difficult than his last venture. I have always characterized him as a wonderfully knowledgeable person, an athlete, always well-prepared . . . one could always rely on him."
Bartolomiy continued : "I can say the same for the rest of the guys, although we did not go on as many expedition[s] as with Igor. I am glad that, years after, a high-level investigation is resumed to understand what exactly happened."
The 'hurricane" theory is a little more confusing. It might be that in an attempt to translate Russian to English that the term hurricane was used in place of tornado or cyclone. There are two possible explanations provided for this phenomena.
It could fall under the Infrasound Theory : [excerpt from part 4]
The theory goes with the premise that infrasound might have been responsible for sudden unpleasant feelings for the campers. It is suggested that a rare weather phenomena, a "perfect storm", could have struck during the night. It panicked the hikers causing them to flee the tent and finally fall victim to the cold before they were able to recover their senses.
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| Animation of Karman Vortex Street |
In other words, under the right conditions, the flow of the wind can be directed in ways that will make a vortex. The wind will travel in a fan shape. With high winds and the right angles, this could form a small tornado which in turn could produce infrasound, in addition to causing wind damage. The theory concludes that the tent was sufficiently down slope enough that the tornado did not reach the tent, but it passed close enough for the infrasound to be felt and the wind heard.
We can also look at the Gravity Fluctuation Theory : [part 4]
German Erchenko [Petersburg physicist Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Institute of Engineering and holder of 100+ patents] believes that significantly decreased external pressure threw the hikers from their tent.
"It formed a corridor of a kind, in which earth's gravity decreased. The tourists in the tent -- sleeping or just getting ready, had time to undress. And then 'unknown force' began to lift them up off the floor and drag them into the direction of the corridor." As the outside air pressure was much lower than the inside of the tent, "people began to push outwards. The emerging tourists instantly pushed the tent from the inside, and since the pressure in their bodies still remained high, they received 'unexplained' internal injuries -- including broken bones."
He went on to say : "Some of the tourists died instantly others remained alive for some time, but the bodies once outside the tent remain hovering in the air as though lying on a horizontal surface. In this position same force pulled them to the side."
This incident would have lasted only a few minutes.
"They flew one by one or in groups from the tent, to be scatter on the slope and in the woods. When they were falling in the snow from a height, not being able to protect themselves, they received the injuries on their faces, which were disfigured."
In any event, the Russians expect to complete their current investigation and analysis by August.Although there has been evidence provided to point to natural reasons for this tragedy, there are also enough to point towards something criminal. It is very hard to find one true explanation that takes the known facts and puts them all in place.
Dr. Igor Burtsev had this to say recently.
"The last proposal of the investigators was: that was a criminal story -- a team of criminals tortured them and after killed."
When asked if that was what the latest investigation decided, he responded :
"Yes, so. They just visited that place again, very experienced medical specialists and criminal investigators. The character of their injures [sic] say that they were tortured, some of them stripped and forced to climb a tree naked, and the bottom kindled a fire and burned."
He continued : "Others' bones including heads were broken with some heavy hard things and after carried to other places and one flashlight was found on the tent which was not belonged to the group members."
The official report is due out in August. We shall have to wait and see. As for me, I believe it will forever remain a mystery.
"Nine Russian students, experienced hikers -- seven men, two women -- massacred by an unknown force in the early morning hours of February 2nd, 1959 on the high slopes of Kholat Syakhl, a mountain peak in the Northern Ural range. No one alive knows what happened." -- Mysterious Universe
Footage of the investigators at Dyatlov Pass :
For more information, background and theories, see :
dyatlovpass.com
Nancy
"I'll spark the thought; what you do with it is up to you."
"Dyatlov Pass cold case reopened by Russian police, who say nine skiers died of 'natural phenomena'" / February 5, 2019 / abc.net.au
"Russian officials reopen probe into mysterious deaths of nine skiers in 1959 Dyatlov Pass Incident" / Kathleen Joyce / February 6, 2019 / www.foxnews.com
"Russia reopens investigation into 60-year-old Dyatlov Pass mystery" / Mary Ilyushina and Lianne Kolirin / February 4, 2019 / www.edition.cnn.com
"Prosecutors relaunch probe into mysterious 1959 Dyatlov Pass Incident" / February 1, 2019 / sputniknew.com
:Russian officials provide additional details on new Dyatlov Pass investigation" / Tim Binnall / February 5, 2019 / coasttocoastam.com
"Deadly blizzard, UFO or . . . ? Prosecutors travel to Dyatlov Pass to solve 60 year mystery" / March 23, 2019 / elblnews.com
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