Mountain of the Dead (14 page)

At the time of the deaths of the Dyatlov group, it is a virtual certainty that bears in the area would have still been hibernating. Also, there were no tracks of a bear either by the tent, by the footprints of the group or near where the bodies were found. The slashes on the tent fabric were made by members of the group using knives to escape from inside the tent rather than anything slashing from the outside. None of any of the injuries on any of the members of the group had been caused by a bear.

While it is fairly certain that bears would have been hibernating in January and February, wolves do not hibernate and in January/February they would have been hungry and looking for food in any shape or form they could find it. Their usual diet is rabbit, but when their food supply becomes scarce, packs of wolves are known to widen their search for food and start encroaching on areas where livestock are kept. Wolves tend to hunt in packs of six or seven. A large pack could number thirty to forty and, if they were hungry enough, would not be deterred by even a large group of unarmed hikers. Wolves will start to attack more dangerous prey when they run out of non-dangerous prey. In February 2011, a ‘superpack’ of over 400 wolves were responsible for killing large numbers of horses at Verkhoyansk in Siberia (although the size of this ‘superpack’ has been disputed as being a ridiculous number).
14
There were twenty-four separate teams of hunters assembled to deal with them.

But once again, as with the possibility of an attack by a bear, the slashes to the fabric on the tent were not made by a wild animal and there was nothing at all in the area to indicate in the form of tracks, the presence of wolves. Also, none of the injuries suffered by the group were consistent with an attack by a pack of wolves, or indeed any type of animal.

Invariably, whenever a case involving strange deaths or disappearances in the open or wild is discussed, the question of unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrials arises. One item in particular is the mention of lights or light spheres in the night skies. One aspect of these lights is examined in much greater detail in Chapter 8 (the Yury Yakimov theory).

This unusual phenomenon of light spheres was observed in the skies in 1959 (and also later) in different parts of the northern Urals and also in Ivdel. The movement of light spheres across the sky, their shape and time of appearance are described similarly by Mansi hunters, tourists (i.e. hikers/skiers), meteorologists, the military and occasional observers. There are three possible explanations for these lights: they were tests of missiles, they were UFOs (or alien craft), or they were afterburners from Soviet fighter aircraft. Theorists in connection with the Dyatlov incident have focused on the presence of large lights in the night sky on 1 February. These lights were described as bright orbs and were seen by another group of ski hikers/tourists about 30 miles (48km) south of the Dyatlov group’s location. The UFO theorists claim the brightly lit orbs were responsible in some way for what happened to the Dyatlov group. Yet there is nothing to support the theory other than the fact that some members of the group suffered massive injuries that appeared to have no immediate rational explanation. There were no unexplained tracks or traces around the tent, along the route the party took, or around the areas where the bodies were found to suggest there was anyone or anything else there.

One further item that the UFO theorists have alighted on is the last photograph in one of the cameras that was found in the tent by the search parties. When it was developed, this photograph appeared to have been overexposed and showed what appeared to be bright lights against a black background, which gives some credence to the UFO theory, or at least to the theory that the bright orbs that had been observed in the sky had something to do with what happened to the group. However, it is also possible that the photo was genuinely an overexposure. It has also been suggested that the overexposure of that particular photo was caused by a member of the search party, who may have picked up the camera and accidentally caused the camera to take a picture that was badly exposed.

If the orbs had come close to the tent, one would have expected the members of the group to observe them in puzzlement at first, as presumably no noise was made by them. The evacuation of the tent in a complete panic does not support this view and, if a picture had been taken of the orbs, it would seem to suggest that whoever took the picture had left the camera behind whilst running for his or her life. Whatever had happened strongly suggests that it happened in a matter of seconds and caused them to immediately tear their way out of the tent, which does not create a scenario for taking photographs.

Other than the sightings of lights in the sky, much of which has immediate rational explanations, there is no other evidence to support the UFO theory, other than possibly the sheer strangeness of the deaths and where the bodies were found.

According to data collected by the International Ufologist Union, in the first eleven months of 2005 there were 2,348 sightings of worldwide UFOs (reported in the newspaper
Komsomolskaya Pravda
dated 9 December 2005).

One most unexpected supporter of UFOs being involved in the deaths of the Dyatlov group was Lev Ivanov, the lead criminal investigator on the case. However, other than the appearance of lights/fire spheres/glowing orbs in the night skies of the northern Ural Mountains there is no other firm evidence to back up the theory, other than possibly the serious internal injuries to Luda Dubinina, Semyon Zolotarev and Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle, which appear to be almost inexplicable.

In early November 2012 it was reported in the media that Professor Valentin Sapunov of the Russian State Hydrometeorological University claimed to have found hair in a remote Siberian cave a year previously, possibly belonging to a human-like mammal unknown to man. He had estimated that there were up to 200 yeti living in the Altai, Kemerovo and Khakassia regions of Siberia and explained that none had been sighted as they had an acute sense of danger. Sapunov’s claims regarding the hair were played down by Oleg Pugachev, Director of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science. Pugachev said that it was impossible to verify the DNA due to a lack of hair bulbs, and stated that the structure of the hair showed it could have belonged to a goat, bear or other animal. Nevertheless, there is strong interest in the possibility of a yeti or similar type of creature being found.

One theory is that the members of the group all fell victim to some form of malign Siberian troll or group of trolls, or possibly a yeti-type creature. Whilst no one has ever produced concrete evidence of the existence of these trolls or yetis, what the theorists of the Dyatlov incident have focused on is a comment in the
Evening Otorten
, the ‘joke newspaper’ made by the group: ‘We now know that Snowmen exist.’ There is no other reference in the diaries to this statement and neither is the statement expanded upon. As already stated (in Chapter 5), there is some dispute about the dates of the
Evening Otorten
and also whether the comment about the ‘Snowmen’ is actually true, but with the paper having disappeared, nothing can be verified. Once again, a different meaning is ascribed to the last photograph taken by the group (see
UFOs/light spheres, above), which appears to show lights. This picture, actually from Igor Dyatlov’s camera, is taken by some of the troll/yeti theorists to show a pair of hands grabbing forward. The whole theory – which also attempts to account for the worst of the internal injuries by the fact of a powerful creature squeezing the victims without leaving external marks – is very flimsy. There is virtually nothing to substantiate it and, again, we come back to the issue of a lack of footprints, as it would be assumed that these trolls or yetis would at least make some form of track.

The leading researchers in this field (the paranormal) in relation to the USSR are Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle. They have researched this subject for many years and, at the time of writing, they are currently working on a project to explain the events concerning the deaths of the Dyatlov group, which involves the ‘golden woman’ (in Russian
zolotaya baba
). They hope to publish the results of their research very shortly. The ‘golden woman’ is a well-known phenomenon in the northern Urals and has a long history, believed to stem from the Khanty and Mansi ancestors’ (Ob-Ugric people) contact with ancient peoples in the north of India, or possibly Sumerians in Southern Mesopotamia. The lair of the ‘golden woman’ is believed to lie close to Mount Otorten and, throughout its history, the lair was closely guarded by the ancestors of the present-day Khanti and Mansi people. The actual deaths of the Dyatlov group, who may have come close to the lair of the ‘golden woman’, are believed to have been caused by a form of directed energy. Little comment can be made until Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle publish the results of their investigations.

  
1.
  ‘Paradoxical Undressing in Fatal Hypothermia’, B. Wedin, L. Vangaard and J. Hiroven,
Journal of Forensic Science
1979, Jul 24 (3): 543–53.

  
2.
  ‘Terminal Burrowing Behaviour – A Phenomenon of Lethal Hypothermia’, M. A. Rothschild and V. Schneider, Institute of Legal Medicine, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany. In the study of sixty-nine deaths studied between 1978 and 1994, all the bodies were found in a state of undress but additionally were found under a bed, behind a wardrobe and on a shelf. The deceased had made last desperate attempts to seek extra protection from the cold by the ‘burrowing behaviour’.

  
3.
  ‘Terminal Burrowing Behaviour – A Phenomenon of Lethal Hypothermia’, M. A. Rothschild and V. Schneider.

  
4.
  Wikipedia article for the majority of the details on avalanches:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/avalanche
.

  
5.
  See
The Mystery of the Deaths of the Dyatlov Group
, E. Bujanov and B. Slobtsov, which supports the avalanche theory as being responsible for the deaths.

  
6.
  Declassified CIA National Intelligence Estimate Number 11-5-59, Soviet Capabilities in Guided Missiles and Space Vehicles (among numerous other sources and other declassified CIA files available on the Internet).

  
7.
  Lists of launches can be found on the website Encyclopedia Astronautica:
www.astronautix.com
.

  
8.
  Details of some of Dr Vladimir Gavreau’s work can be found on the Académie française website
www.academie-francaise.fr
and other details of his work can readily be found on the Internet (although some of it is copyright).

  
9.
  Anne Applebaum,
Gulag: A History
, Penguin 2003.

10.
  Anne Applebaum,
Gulag: A History
.

11.
  Anne Applebaum,
Gulag: A History
.

12.
  Anne Applebaum,
Gulag: A History
.

13.
  
http://dinets.travel.ru/russianbears.htm
.

14.
  
www.wolfsongalaska.org/wolf_russia_russia_history.html
.

15.
  Philip Mantle and Paul Stonehill hope to publish their research into the ‘lair of the golden woman’ in 2013.

All of the previous theories mentioned in Chapter 6 are concerned with the events taking place on the eastern slopes of Kholat Syakhl, i.e. where the abandoned tent was found. There is another line of theories that explain the events having taken place in a completely different location – and that the bodies and all their belongings, including tent and equipment, were brought from another location and transported to Kholat Syakhl.

This theory of outside interference starts to manifest itself in a number of ways when looking at items arising from the investigation. There were a number of inconsistencies. One of the most important is a telegram from Terebilov, Assistant General Prosecutor of the USSR in Moscow, sent on 9 May 1959 to Chief Prosecutor Klinov in Sverdlovsk. Terebilov tells Klinov to send him ‘Case No 3/2518-59 related to deaths of student group’. The case file that is generally referred to for public consumption was never given a case number and this suggests that there is another file held by the authorities. There is one other reference to Case No 3/2518-59 in a letter dated 16 May 1959. Requests to see this file have been refused by the chief prosecutor of the Oblast and there is no explanation as to why the file in the public domain does not have a case number.

There were other inconsistencies. For instance, Yury Yudin had mentioned both he and Zina Kolmogorova had complained that, as acting medics for the group, they did not have any alcohol to use for sterilising. However, one of the items mentioned and itemised on a list as being removed from the tent after it was found was alcohol. Yury Yudin was adamant to his death that they did not take any alcohol with them nor did they obtain any en route. However, Yudin himself assisted in the sorting of the effects from the tent and he recalls holding a flask in each hand which he did not recognise. He says that one was reclaimed by Krivonischenko’s family. The base camp storage (for excess items), which was established by the group before they continued up the mountain, was also a source of controversy as Yury Yudin says there were items found there that were not taken by the group.

A number of people associated with the case felt uneasy about the way the whole investigation was conducted, not least by the fact that they had to sign non-disclosure agreements. An example of this uneasiness was the case of a pilot of a Yak-12 light aircraft who flew over the northern Urals looking for forest fires and was involved in the search for the group. He had instructed his wife to take good care of their child in case anything happened to him. He died not long after he had made the comment, and whilst it may have been coincidence, it seemed to fit an outsider’s view that something was not right.