ORIGINAL AUTHOR: Pat Donahue
Dyatlov Pass is located in Russia’s Ural Mountains. The Dylatov Pass incident refers to an “incident” in 1959 when a group of nine Soviet mountaineers met their demise under extremely bizarre circumstances.
According to All That Is Interesting, the nine-person expedition led by Igor Dyatlov embarked on a mountaineering mission in late January 1959. On February 20, their bodies were discovered by a rescue party. Yes, this is quite simple, but the story lies in the condition in which the bodies were found.
The bodies of the hikers were discovered in extremely bizarre conditions. It quickly became apparent that this was not an avalanche death nor a typical run-of-the-mill hypothermia situation. Instead, the hikers were found in two clusters showing serious trauma and mutilation.
One group of hikers was found in the snow near a tent. The tent had been cut from the inside as if the tenants were trying to escape something. The mountaineers were found barefoot wearing minimal clothing. While this does point to hypothermia, one of the hikers was a brown/purple hue and had foam coming from his mouth. Other members of the party had severe trauma as if he were bludgeoned by something more powerful than a human.
The other cluster of hikers was an even more frightening sight. Three men and a woman were found in this location. The woman was missing her eyes, tongue, and part of her face. The woman also tested positive for exposure to radiation. Two of the men had major bone fractures that reportedly required “car-crash” levels of force. This second group was believed to have died after the first group as they were found wearing some clothes belonging to the first cluster.
At the time of the incident, the Soviet government quickly swept the story under the rug alleging that these were just inexperienced hikers. They were actually quite accomplished and experienced mountaineers. The mystery has never been solved.
The most common explanation is the idea that this was a case of hypothermia. Irrational thinking and erratic behavior are calling cards of hypothermia. Before you succumb to hypothermia, many people think they are overheating and start shedding clothing. This of course doesn’t explain the radiation or the immense impacts that broke bones on some of the hikers.
A group of hikers camping approximately 30-miles away saw strange orange orbs out in the distance where the Dyatlov party was camping. These strange colors paired with the traces of tradition suggest that the group could have stumbled on some sort of Soviet weapon testing site or secret base.
Another possible explanation is UFOs. The radiation paired with the inhuman forces that caused some of the injuries make it a somewhat plausible explanation. A menk, the Russian version of the Yeti, is another suspect who might be big and powerful enough to cause such injuries.
There has been some speculation that some members of the party were romantically involved. There is a theory that things turned nasty and there was conflict among the hikers. This explanation is a little thin as the group had a history of getting along and the trauma sustained by some members is unlikely to be administered by a jealous lover.
Whatever the truth is, it sure is spooky. This underreported and lesser-known incident is truly what nightmares are made of.
Images From: Dyatlov Pass Facebook Page