Mountain of the Dead

In memory of

For Moira, Lucy, Callum and Jack

Front Cover
:
Top
: The Dyatlov group well wrapped up against the elements.
Courtesy Dyatlov Memorial Foundation
;
Bottom
: Naked woman.
iStockphoto

Back Cover
: The last photograph taken of the Dyatlov group while they were still alive.
Courtesy Dyatlov Memorial Foundation

First and foremost I am grateful to Christopher Jeffery for making the whole project possible as a fair amount of finance for research in the Russian Federation was required. Equally the book would not have been possible without the considerable input from Yury Kuntsevich, Chairman of the Dyatlov Memorial Foundation in Ekaterinburg. Running parallel with Yury’s help was the excellent help and translating carried out for me by Marina Yakhontova. Marina is a first-class translator and is also extremely knowledgeable on the whole Dyatlov Pass story. Her kind assistance and help both during my research in Russia and ‘over the ether’ is deeply appreciated.

I am also grateful to: Alexander Gulikov via the Dyatlov Memorial Foundation for permission to include a condensed version of his theory ‘A Fight in the Higher Echelons of Power’; Yury Yakimov for permission to include his ‘Light Set’ theory, which is a condensed translation of an article that first appeared on
www.Russia-paranormal.org
. My thanks goes also to Gillian McGregor and Peter J. Bedford (HM Coroner for Berkshire); Natalia Elfimova for her patience and help; Dr Milton Garces PhD; Michael Holm; Dr Gabor Szekely; Pavel Ivanchenko; the director of the Museum at URFU (formerly UPI), Julia Borisovna Shaton, and the curator, Irina Alexandrovna Kashina, who were very helpful and pleasant during our visit; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle; Galina Kohlwek; Olga Skorikova and my editor at The History Press, Lindsey Smith.

Special mentions also for: the last surviving member of the Dyatlov group, the now late Yury Yudin, who clarified certain grey areas and answered a number of what must have appeared mind-numbing questions during my research; Leah Monahan for her technical wizardry and unfailing cheerful patience; Triona McCloskey for proofreading. A special thank you to my wife Moira for all her help and unflagging support.

Finally, the British Consulate in Ekaterinburg for the best cup of tea east of the Urals.

In February 2013 it was fifty-four years since the Dyatlov tragedy, which took place in the northern Ural Mountains. In what appears to be coming to prominence as the Russian equivalent of the
Mary Celeste
mystery, numerous theories have been put forward to try and explain what happened, but it appears to be a case that almost defies rational explanation. These theories, which try to explain what happened on the night of 1/2 February 1959, range from the quite plausible to what some may think of as the absolutely ridiculous. I have included them all (at least the known theories at the time of writing, including one that surfaced while I was well into the preparation of the book). It is important to keep an open mind and it is also worth considering that the cause of the deaths may involve more than one theory or a combination of theories.

The core of the mystery is not so much how the various members of the party died, but what caused them to flee from the safety of their tent in what appears to have been blind panic, fearing for their lives. There is also another line of thinking, which suggests that the deaths occurred elsewhere and their bodies were deposited on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl (Mountain of the Dead). The real problem is that there is very little evidence to go on, everything is conjecture. Also, part of the problem in finding an answer is the nature of the former Soviet Union with its mania for secrecy and security. Despite the fall of the former USSR, the opening up of archives and a different outlook among the younger generation, old attitudes still persist in many areas of officialdom.

I have also tried to give an idea of the background in which the tragedy took place. In other words, the Cold War, which dominated everyone’s lives in the East and West at that time. I have also given a brief explanation of the part that ‘ski tourism’ played in the Soviet Union.

The only thing certain is that nine young people in the prime of their lives died dreadful deaths and, like the
Mary Celeste
, it is probable that the truth of what actually happened will never be known for sure.

*  In many articles and publications the word ‘tourism’ is mentioned and the Dyatlov group are referred to as ‘tourists’ or ‘sports tourists’. This was a loosely defined term and a condensed definition of it in 1969 was: ‘Tourism includes journeys with the aim of active rest and better health and performing socially useful work. An important part of tourist activity is moving around on foot, skis, bicycle or boat and overcoming natural obstacles often in extremely difficult climatic conditions and even in dangerous situations, e.g. mountaineering or rock climbing … Many tourist journeys involve self-service, such as arranging a camp, camp-fire, food and washing. Sporting tourism also includes mountaineering and orienteering. The All-Union Sports Classification details the complexity of routes, the number of journeys, the length of the journeys and the difficulty of natural obstacles that the tourist has to negotiate in order to gain a ranking.’

G.D. Kharabuga,
Teoriya I metodika fizicheskoi kul’tury
(Moscow 1969)

*  41st Kvartal – (meaning ‘quarter’ or ‘square’) kvartal in forestry is part of a forest area defined by artificial fire breaks or natural terrain features such as rivers. Kvartals are an important element in cadastres, mapping, economics and forestry management. Kvartals may be of different sizes e.g. 4x4km, 8x8km or larger depending on the size of the forest. Kvartals are numbered in a direction from NW to SE. Quarter poles at lane crossings have numbers on their sides also oriented in the NW and SE directions. Rangers, geologists and tourists use them to find their locations on maps. The 41st Kvartal referred to in the text is a woodcutter settlement in the 41st Forest Kvartal.

*  Kholat Syakhl – strictly means ‘Dead Mountain’ in Mansi but, with the deaths that have taken place there, it has come to be known as ‘Mountain of the Dead’.

*  Taiga – used to describe the Boreal Forest. The Taiga is also a biome or ecosystem that consists mainly of coniferous forests and covers a vast area in northern Russia.

*  Gulag – the acronym (in Russian –
Glavnoe uplavrenie lagerei
, meaning Main Camp Administration) for the system of prison camps across the USSR used to incarcerate criminal and political prisoners who were used as slave labour.

*  Names – wherever possible I have avoided use of the traditional Russian patronymic and used simplified first names in order to make reading easier.

*  Yekaterinburg/Ekaterinburg – there is not enough space to go into the various reasons why there are two different spellings for the city: I have chosen Ekaterinburg. Between 1924 and 1991 the city was names Sverdlovsk.

*  Oblast – government administrative region.

*  Mansi – tribe of the northern Urals region.

*  Khanty – tribe of the northern Urals, related to the Mansi.

In January 1959 ten students from Ural Polytechnic Institute in Sverdlovsk set out on what they hoped would be an exciting journey and a test of their skills in the remote northern Ural Mountains, nearly 400 miles north of the city where they lived and studied. Although it was midwinter and the conditions would be harsh, the trip was to be a break from the hard daily routine of their studies. The leader of the group was Igor Dyatlov who had only just turned 23, an affable and highly experienced skier, hiker and orienteer. There were two strong-willed girls in the group: Lyudmila Dubinina and Zinaida Kolmogorova. There were also another seven males: Yury Yudin; Rustem Slobodin; Semyon Zolotarev, a tough Second World War veteran and expert in unarmed combat; Alexander Kolevatov; George Krivonischenko; Yury Doroshenko; and Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle, who was born in one of Stalin’s Gulags where his father, a French communist, had been imprisoned and executed.

The whole group were all very fit, experienced hikers and skiers. Only the previous year, Igor Dyatlov had led a party on the same route, so they were confident that there would be no problems encountered that they could not deal with.

They left Sverdlovsk and travelled north by train, lorry and then finally on foot and skis. On 27 January they reached an abandoned village of wooden houses, which had previously been used by geologists. They spent the night there and it was here on the following day (28 January) that one member of the group, Yury Yudin, decided to turn back because of illness.

Their target was to reach the 1,234m Mount Otorten (translated as ‘don’t go there’ in the local Mansi language), but they ended up on the slopes of the 1,079m mountain named Kholat Syakhl (translated as ‘Mountain of the Dead’ in the local Mansi language).

Up until 28 January 1959, everything can be independently verified about the journey of the Dyatlov group. Beyond that date, and despite the presence of a group diary and photographs, nothing can be verified.