Russian authorities reopen the Dyatlov Pass investigation

The hiker’s tent as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959 - Public domain

60 years ago, nine hikers died in mysterious circumstances while on a trip in the Ural Mountains

On the night between 1-2 February 1959, a group of nine students from the Ural Polytechnic Institute lost their lives in the northern Urals. The bodies of five of the hikers were found in the weeks that followed the incident. The other four corpses appeared once the snow had melted in May. The investigation stated that six of them had died from hypothermia and the other three from major fractures. It was concluded that the deaths had been caused by a “compelling natural force”.

The official Soviet-era version has always been questioned, for it did not address some of the strangest details: the tent was sliced open from the inside and the students left their belongings behind and did not put their shoes on; one of the faces was missing its eyes and tongue; two of them had significant levels of radiation on their clothes.

All the perturbing evidence resulted in multiple bizarre theories being put forward. Some claim they were murdered, perhaps by a local tribe. There are even paranormal theories. But the most popular possibilities are any form of military involvement or natural phenomena.

The natural theories had a recent contribution that has gained praise from experts. After studying the evidence and traveling to the Dyatlov Pass, Swedish archeologist Richard Holmgren and his colleague Andreas Liljegren claimed that the deaths had been caused by the force of a katabatic wind; masses of cold air that descended with strength the slope where the group had camped. “The layers of snow in the pictures show that the bodies on the slope were buried quickly, which means the wind going down was very strong,” Holmgren explains.

Keith McCloskey, author of two books about the Dyatlov Pass, started a crowdfunding campaign to help financing the petition for a new investigation. Last February they eventually managed to get the case reopened. But relatives and people who have followed the mystery are not satisfied. “They are only going to look at the weather aspects of it,” laments McCloskey, who believes in a military involvement theory.

Irina Lobatcheva, author of the book Dyatlov Pass Keeps Its Secret, does not believe this new investigation will provide a conclusive answer. “I am absolutely sure that this case will remain a mystery.”