Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

The Dyatlov Incident is one of the the most fascinating mysteries of the 20th century. In 1959, a crew of nine seasoned hikers headed into the Siberian wilderness in late January for an intense but vigorous trek. When they didn’t return in early February as planned (and after a bit of prodding from family members) a search was conducted, and what the searchers found was so bizarre that it would be fodder for conspiracy theorists and readers of tales of the weird for decades. It wasn’t so much what killed the hikers, almost all of them died of hypothermia -- though three of the members had severe blunt force trauma injuries that contributed in varying degree to the speed of their deaths.Instead, it was that the bodies were found on the order of a mile from their tent, none of them was wearing boots or adequate attire. There were also a range of smaller anomalies, such as one individual wearing two watches, several of the team having shredded clothing, one of the hikers missing her tongue, and some of the hiker’s clothing testing positive for radioactivity. Lest one attribute the hiker’s strange and fatal behavior to drink or other mind and mood altering substances, the hikers were known teetotalers, and the little medicinal alcohol they had was all accounted for by the search party (who admittedly drank it.) So the question wasn’t what killed them, but what drove these skilled, sober, and well-led hikers out of the comfort of their tent improperly attired in the middle of the night on the night of February 1, 1959, and what explanation could account for this range of bizzarities?I won’t get into Eichar’s well-developed and scientifically-supported theory to avoid spoilers, but it’s fascinating to consider the range of theories that people came up with over the course of the investigation (and subsequent years) to explain the odd incident. The explanations run the gamut from the otherworldly (i.e. Siberian Demon Dwarves) to a range of theories that were less provocative but which also lacked explanatory power or were inconsistent with known data (e.g. avalanche or high winds literally blowing them off the mountain.) Of course, another fact played heavily into people’s conspiracy building and that was that this was the height of the Cold War Soviet Union. While life had eased a bit since the demise of Stalin (such a trek would have been prohibited under his rule) it was still an authoritarian state, plus the memory of Stalin was fresh. This led to the most widely-accepted theories involving the hikers being killed because they saw a covert weapons test or stumbled into an area where the KGB was getting up to some shenanigans. (As a sign of the times, it seems that there was some attempt to thwart the investigation and /or limit the interest in the case from low-level party apparatchiks who probably assumed shadowy elements of the government were involved [though there seems to be no evidence that they were.]) Another theory proposed that the hikers were killed by a group of escapees from the Gulags that were numerous in that part of the country. (Of course, that assumes that the poorly-fed and -clothed prisoners would have survived the freezing temperatures better than the fit and relatively well-equipped college students.) As evidence mounted, however, it suggested outsider involvement less-and-less. For example, the side of the tent was cut open, but rudimentary forensic investigation readily proved that it must have been cut from the inside and not from the outside by a KGB agent, Gulag prisoner, local tribesman, or a Siberian dwarf claw.The book intersperses accounts of the happenings in 1959 with chapters that describe the author’s trips to Russia to investigate, including his visit to “Dead Mountain” and the “Dyatlov Pass” in 2012. (The former name predates the Incident and has to do with the fact that the mountain is devoid of vegetation. The latter name, i.e. “Dyatlov,” is the last name of the leader of the group of hikers.) The penultimate chapter describes Eichar’s conclusion about what caused the mysterious incident and his visits to experts that lent it credence. The last chapter offers a retelling of events that takes into account both the evidence and scientific speculation about the cause of the hikers’ panicked flight from the safety of their tent into a desolate landscape on a sub-freezing night.There are graphics throughout, mostly black and white photos from the cameras of the hikers, which were recovered and became part of the case file. Other than the photos, there is a graphic or two to help explain the theory put forth by Eichar and others. (It should be noted that there was a group of Russians simultaneously considering the same possibility.)I was enthralled by this book and couldn’t put it down. The mystery was fascinating and the hypothesized solution was at least as much so.I’d highly recommend this book to readers of nonfiction, though much of it has the taut structure of fiction.

Oddly enough, I had never heard of the Dyatlov incident until this book popped up on my suggestions list. The reason I purchased it is that there were several comparisons made to Jon Krakauer's classic "Into Thin Air," one of my favorite books of all time. Those comparisons are overstated."Into Thin Air" is a first-person account of an unimaginable tragedy that occurred fairly recently. The reasons for the tragedy were also far less mysterious, though equally haunting. Dead Mountain, on the other hand, is an investigative reporting work written decades after the incident. The evidence used in the book, by the author's own admission, is somewhat sketchy, given that the deaths occurred in the Cold War-era Soviet Union. Plus, the author was an American trying to unravel a mystery in an even more mysterious and suspicious country. "Into Thin Air" was an edge-of-your-seat page-turner. Dead Mountain moves much more slowly. Still an interesting story, just not as urgent.Because I think the book is definitely worth the read, I will not spoil the ultimate conclusions of the author. Suffice it to say, that I never in a million years would have imagined the result of the author's work. That alone makes this book worth reading. The author does an excellent job of explaining his hypothesis and ultimate conclusion. It was clear he did his homework. The main reason I gave this four stars is that it just didn't produce the level of suspense I enjoy in books like this. When I read adventure tales like this, I hope to feel like I never want to put the book down and, when I do have to put it down, I cannot wait to pick it up again. That's a five-star book, in my opinion.That said, this was enjoyable, sad, well-written, and compelling.

Dead Mountain is a well-researched, and respectful book about the Dyatlov Pass incident that took the lives of nine young Russian university students in February of 1959. The mystery around the tragedy is an engrossing one that has been much sensationalized over the years. Film-maker Donnie Eichar cuts through the sensationalism to present a sober investigation into what really happened.At the height of the Cold War and Soviet Union power, ten students of the Ural Polytechnic Institute Hiking Club took off on an expedition to Otorten Mountain in the northern Urals. All were experienced winter hikers and mountaineers, especially their leader, Igor Dyatlov. When they failed to return after three weeks, a search was launched. The initial search party found their empty tent and no sign of the hikers. All indications were that the tent had been abandoned in panic. Then, after some weeks of searching, the bodies were found."Their bodies were eventually found roughly a mile away from their campsite, in separate locations, half-dressed in subzero temperatures. Some were found facedown in the snow; others in fetal position; and some in a ravine clutching one another. Nearly all were without their shoes." (p 23)One of their group, Yuri Yudin, had turned back, well before the tragedy occurred, due to a bout of pain from his chronic rheumatism, making him the only survivor.So what could have happened to drive these young people out into a dark night of howling winds in below-zero temperatures? That’s the mystery that has prompted horror stories about the incident and that drives the narrative of Dead Mountain.I have to admit that the mystery as outlined in the book blurbs grabbed my imagination. I had never heard of the incident and so wanted to know what it was all about, and why it was little known in the West. The book’s author, Donnie Eichar, is a director and producer of film work for MTV. He also became enamored with the story and determined to resolve the mystery. His research led him to literally retrace the hikers’ steps into the Urals in winter. He was the first American to do so.Mr. Eichar’s prose is well-written and keeps up the tension of the mystery as he takes us with him on his investigation. The narrative alternates between his research and the story of the hikers as recorded in their group diary and photographs. These photographs are readily found on the Internet and I referred to them often as I read Dead Mountain. Many of them are included in the book.Through the diary and photos the hikers are revealed as smart, well-adjusted young people with a love for life and the outdoors. Their last hike was to earn them a certification that would allow them to teach mountain hiking. So they knew what they were doing. There was one 37 year-old among the group, but the rest were all under 24. They were interested in two-way radios (the geek equivalent of personal computers for the time), hard science (they were engineering and physics majors), and the possibilities for love and romance (especially the two young women). The photos show a lot of college-student clowning and the diary indicates their excitement for their adventure. Accounts from the people that encountered them along their way are all positive as to their demeanor and attitudes.Tension builds as Mr. Eichar recounts the groups’ final expedition. He tells us enough of the hikers’ personal lives that we get to know them as individuals. We feel their youthful friendships, hopes, and concerns. We struggle with them as they work out the logistics of their trip, and feel the pathos in Yuri’s early parting with them, expecting to reunite in a week’s time.Tension also builds in the account of Mr. Eichar’s own journey to retrace the hikers’ steps and so gain clues as to what happened to them. He has to deal with a language barrier and his own journey logistics. Being from Florida, he has little experience of mountains and none of sub-zero cold. On top of all this, he makes a search for the lone surviving member of the Dyatlov group, Yuri Yudin.I found Dead Mountain to be engrossing and hard to put down. Mr. Eichar keeps his prose moving, interesting, and relevant. Internet photos enhance the book, but I found the autopsy photos disturbing. The driving force of the book, however, is the mystery: what happened to hikers? UFOs? Yeti? Bandits? All have been proposed as solutions. After examining all the evidence he could gather, Mr. Eichar comes up with his own idea about what happened.The last chapter of Dead Mountain is Mr. Eichar’s reconstruction of the events of the hikers’ last night. The scenario he describes is, in my opinion, probably very close to the truth.I think Dead Mountain is a good exercise in how to approach and to think about a stubborn mystery, especially one with paranormal overtones. It indicates the kind of open-minded work required to get to the bottom of things (whether you think Mr. Eichar did or not). In the end, it is a reminder of the tragedies in this world, and of nine promising young people who were taken out of it much too early.

Really enjoyed the plausible unwrapping of this mystery and the way the tale was told. The Dyatlov group and their mysterious demise is a chilling and yet fascinating story of friendship, while giving insight into post Cold War Russia. At the end of the day, sometimes people just cannot avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A page-turner mistery! An excelent read at the warm fifeside.

Un libro que ha sido producido a través de una investigación concienzuda y que aborda el tema con rigor histórico, dejando de lado los elementos sobrenaturales y la especulación fantástica, el principal mérito consiste en explicar lo más cercanamente posible el fenómeno a partir del análisis científico y riguroso de las evidencias, sin deshumanizar a los protagonistas de esta tragedia/misterio. MUY RECOMENDABLE.

Uma porcaria. O autor presunçosamente afirma ter resolvido o mistério, mas a explicação apresentada - além de absurda - não foi corroborada por testes no local, para confirmar a ocorrência dos eventos de infra-som.

邦訳の紹介を偶然目にし、丁度何かノンフィクションを読みたい気分でしたので原著を購入。1959年に旧ソ連の9人の学生ハイカーがウラル地方の山で遭難・死亡したディアトロフ峠事件。着衣等死亡時の状況が極めて不自然であったにも拘らず当時の政府が完全解明を妨害したことから暴漢説、秘密兵器実験説、UFO説等様々な憶測まで呼んだ事件の謎に迫ります。結末は意外ですが作者の推測の域を出ません。けれど当時はさぞかしセンセーショナルであったろう本事件を再調査・検証し、最後に運命の1日を再現していく過程は十分楽しめました。