The Dyatlov Pass Incident

The Dyatlov Pass Incident

This is the story about 9 ski hiker deaths that happened in the northern Ural Mountains in Russia on the night of February 2, 1959.  This incident happened on the east shoulder of Kholat Syakhl Mountain (meaning Mountain of the Dead).  Specifically, it was in a pass known as Dyatlov Pass.  This pass was named after the group’s leader, Igor Dyatlov. The Dyatlov Pass incident occurred during the rule of the Soviets over Russia and although there were no eyewitnesses or survivors to what actually happened the Soviet army did investigate the incident and locate the bodies of the 9 hikers.  Soviet investigators at the time determined only that a “compelling unknown force” had caused their deaths.  For 3 years after the incident, 1959-62, the Soviets forbid access to the area to skiers and hikers.

When Soviet investigators went looking for the hikers who failed to return on schedule they first found the hiker’s tent that was apparently cut open in the back with a knife.  The hikers appeared to have fled through the hole without their shoes, some wearing only socks and others barefoot in the heavy snow.  The investigators found all 9 bodies at the edge of the snow covered forest.  The corpses showed no signs of struggle, however, two of them had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one of the hikers was missing her tongue.  According to investigators 4 of the victims’ clothing had substantial levels of radiation detected on them.

The ski group had come together for a ski trek across the northern Urals.  It consisted of Igor Dyatlov, who was the leader, and 8 men along with 2 women.  Most of them were students or graduates of the Ural Polytechnical Institute (now Ural State Technical University).  The goal of the trek was to reach Mt Otorten (which means “Don’t go there” in the native tongue).  The route was considered difficult.  All of these people were experienced skiers and hikers.  Originally the group started out with 10 members but one had to return to the village the day after they started their trek because he became sick.  His name was Yuri Yudin.  So that left 9 members.

Weather conditions during the hike became worse.  Snowstorms decreased visibility and they apparently lost their direction and deviated to the west.  When they apparently realized their mistake the group decided to just stop and set up camp on the slope of the mountain for the night.  Not much else is known except that the group did not return to the village as scheduled and relatives began demanding a search and rescue operation to find them.  The Soviets launched one to locate the missing hikers.  However, this search and rescue operation was not started until February 20.  Later both police and the army became involved in the search with planes and helicopters.

Searchers found the abandoned camp on February 26 on Kholat Syakhl.  The tent was badly damaged and someone had cut open the tent from the back with a knife.  A chain of footprints was seen leading down towards the edge of nearby woods on the opposite side of the pass.  However, after 500 meters they were covered with fresh snow.  At the forest edge under a large cedar tree the searchers found the remains of a fire and the first 2 bodies of the hikers.  Both had no shoes and both were dressed only in their underwear.  Between the cedar and the camp they found 3 more dead bodies of the hikers.  The body poses (they were frozen) of these 3 seemed to suggest that they were attempting to return to camp when they died.  Each of these 3 was found separately at distances of 300, 480, and 630 meters from the cedar tree.  It took searchers more than two months to locate the bodies of the other 4 hikers.  Those 4 were finally found on May 4 buried under 4 meters of snow in a ravine in a stream valley further in the woods from the cedar tree.

Diaries and cameras were found at the camp but they produced little information about what happened to these people.  There is one photo taken of the group setting up camp the evening of February 2, 1959 and everything looks normal.

There was a legal inquest into the deaths of the 9 hikers after the first 5 bodies were discovered.  Autopsies found no injuries that might have led to their deaths and conclude that they all died of hypothermia.  One of the people had a small crack in his skull but it was thought not to be a fatal wound.  When the 4 bodies of the remaining hikers were found in May the entire picture changed.  Three of them had fatal injuries!  The body of one had major skull damage and two others had major chest fractures.  Doctors concluded that the force needed to cause such damage would have had to been extremely high.  One of the investigating doctors, Dr. Boris Vozrozhdenny, compared the injuries to a car wreck victim.  Oddly, the bodies had no external wounds and it appeared as though the bodies had been crippled by a high level of pressure!  One of the women was missing her tongue as well.

Initially there was some speculation that perhaps people from the native Mansi tribe might have attacked the group and murdered them because the group had encroached on their lands.  However, an investigation determined that the nature of their deaths did not support this thesis.  For one thing only the footprints of the hikers were visible and not any from anyone else.  Also, there were no signs of hand-to-hand combat or struggle.

On the night of February 2, 1959 in the Urals the temperature was around minus 25 degrees with blowing snow.  Oddly, however, the hikers were dressed only partially.  Some of them hand only one shoe on while others had no shoes or wore only socks.  Some of the bodies were found wrapped in snips of ripped clothes which appeared too had been cut from those who were already dead.  It must be noted that up to 25% of hypothermia deaths are associated with Paradoxical Undressing which typically occurs during moderate to severe hypothermia as a person becomes disoriented, confused, and combative.  People in this condition may start removing their clothing unawares which, in turn, increases the rate of heat loss and hypothermia.

Journalists who reported on the Inquest into the deaths at the time reported that 6 of the group’s members died of hypothermia and 3 of fatal injuries.  It was also reported that there were no signs of other people nearby or in the surrounding area.  They also reported that the ten had been ripped or cut open from within in the rear of the tent.

Investigators determined that the group had died 6-8 hours after eating their last meal.  All members of the group left the camp on foot.  Dr. Boris Vozrozhdenny stated that none of the injuries on the bodies could have been caused by another human being, “because the force of the blows had been too strong and no soft tissue had been damaged.”  Forensic radiation tests revealed high doses of radioactive contamination on the clothing of a few of the victims.  The final conclusion by investigators was that the group had all died due to some “compelling unknown force.”  The Inquest adjourned and investigative files were sent to a secret archives.  Photocopies of the case became available only in the 1990s with some part missing.

Some researchers claim that the facts surrounding this case were either missed or ignored by investigators.  For instance, they claim that after the funerals that relatives of the deceased said that the skin of the victims had a strange brown tan.  One of the former investigating officials in a private interview said that his dosimeter had shown high radiation levels in the Pass but that the source of the radioactive contamination was never found.  Further, on the night of February 2 another group of hikers who were 50 kilometers away from the incident reported that they had seen strange orange spheres in the night sky to the north in the direction of the pass where the hikers were camping.  Similar reports of such spheres were also observed in Ivdel, a nearby village, and adjacent areas almost continuously from February to March 1959.  These came from various witnesses including the meteorology service and the Soviet military!  Also, some reports suggested that there was a lot of scrap metal in the area where the hikers died.  This led to speculation that the Soviet military had utilized the area for secret tests and might have engaged in a cover-up regarding how the hikers died.

In 1967, Russian writer and journalist Yuri Yarovoi published a novel entitled “of the highest rank of complexity” which he based on this incident.  He had actually been involved in the search for the group and the Inquest.  He had also acted as the investigations official photographer.  Details of the incident were kept secret by the Soviets as usual.  Yarovoi avoided revealing anything beyond the official position and well known facts.  Yarovoi died in 1980 and all of his archives, photos, dairies, and manuscripts became “lost.”  How convenient!

Another Soviet journalist, named Anatoly Guschin, also looked into the incident and wrote a book entitled “The price of state secrets in nine lives.”  He concentrated on speculation that these people were the victims of a secret Soviet weapon experiment.  A former police officer named Lev Ivanov who led the Inquest in 1959 published an article in 1990 and admitted that the investigative team had seen “flying spheres” themselves!  Invanov believed in a paranormal explanation for the group’s deaths involving UFOs.

A regional TV documentary file was produced about this incident in 2000 called “The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass.”  There is also a book by the same name.  The book, written by Anna Matveyeva, contains large portions of quotes from the official case including diaries of the victims and interviews with investigators and searchers.  In September of 2011 the History Channel television show “Ancient Aliens” featured a segment on the incident as well.

Matveyeva’s book is a fictional narrative but it remains the largest source of documentary materials ever made public about the case.  Pages from the case files and other documentaries have published photocopies and transcripts on the web from the case files as well.  Finally, the Dyatlov Foundation was established with the help of the Ural State Technical University and its aim is to convince Russian officials to reopen the case and investigate it further.  They also maintain a Dyatlov Museum in honor of the dead hikers.

The Avalanche Theory

Skeptoid, hosted and produced by Brian Dunning, features a story on the web about this incident.  They report that some of the victims were wearing each other’s clothing and none of the victims had any visible external signs of trauma.  Also, they report that some of the victims may have been blind and that witnesses in the area on the night of February 2, 1959 had reported seeing orange spheres in the night sky.  Also, they report that the bodies of the victims had orange skin and gray hair.  The “Ancient Aliens” series also reported this.

As Skeptoid states, this incident happened in the middle of the Cold War and there are few details other than what has been stated herein.  Journalist attempting to publish the facts about the case had their writings censored or confiscated by Soviet authorities who liked to keep big secrets.  Likewise, official records either went missing or were classified by the Soviets.  Skeptoid points out that many of the theories surrounding this case revolve around Soviet military testing in this region on the night of February 2.  These theories allege that the Soviets were testing some sort of secret weapon that drove the group insane.  Others think UFOs were responsible for the group’s deaths.  After Soviet authorities concluded their investigation into this case everything was classified as TOP SECRET.

Dunning says of the case, “I found some translated articles from Russian media and some western articles, and although the case offers some compelling mysteries, it also offers an elephant in the room.”  And that elephant in the room according to Dunning?  The possibility of AVALANCHES being the killer!  Dunning says he found that the area where the death took place is “hardly the type of place you’d expect avalanches.”  Dunning found a Russian tourism brochure about the region and it DOES warn of avalanche dangers on the slopes steeper than 15 feet!  According to the investigators reports at the time the slope right above the groups campsite was 22-23 feet high.  And further up it goes from 25 to 30 feet.  That’s steep!  Dunning says the reports say snow at the camp was 2 meters deep.  He thinks avalanches are a plausible factor in the death of the hikers.

Dunning goes on to address the radioactivity of some of the hikers clothing and in the area.  He points out the fact that the mantles used in camping lanterns contain Thorium which is known to emit alpha particle radiation!  These mantles are the little fabric bags that are used as wicks in camping lanterns.  They are, as Dunning says, fragile and can easily turn to dust upon touching them and that radioactive dust can get on you and your clothing when you replace them in the lanterns.  BTW they need replacing rather regularly.  Thorium gas mantles were invented in 1891 and were made in many countries.  Coleman is the best known maker of these mantles in the US and they just phased them out in the 1990s.  Dunning says he found a blog post signed by Igor and the guy said he was Russian and attended the same college as the hikers did.  Igor stated that thorium gas mantles were not available in the Soviet Union in 1959.  That’s not so according to Dunning.  He says he found a Russian WW2 later on eBay that was fueled by kerosene and they used thorium gas mantles even during the war.

Dunning speculates that the hikers set up camp in an area with potential avalanche dangers.  Sometime during the night a loud noise from a nearby avalanche or a jet aircraft or maybe even a military ordnance convinced 5 of the hikers that an avalanche was coming their way so they cut open the tent wearing whatever they had on while they’d been asleep and ran off.  Dunning speculates that one of them fell and struck his head on a rock and they became lost in the dark due to blowing snow and poor visibility.  Or, he says, they simply found themselves stranded with their injured friend and built a fire under the cedar tree.  Dunning speculates that they quickly got hypothermia and “probably shouted themselves hoarse for their friends.”  If they escaped only in the underwear what did they start a fire with?  Just asking’. :)

Dunning speculates further that two of the hikers most likely lost consciousness and the others made a choice of desperation to take what little clothing they had from their two unconscious friends and try to make it back to camp.  He says one made in 300 meters, another made it as far as 480 meters, and the third made it a full 630 meters before all five were dead from hypothermia.  Meanwhile, he speculates, the 4 hikers still back at the camp had not panicked and ran away like the other 5.  The 4 at camp got dressed, gathered some provisions, and began searching for their 5 panicking friends in the blowing snow.  Dunning speculates they searched for hours during the night until at some point they found themselves caught up in a real avalanche!  He says during the ensuing panic one of them likely received a fatal skull fracture, one got 12 broken ribs, and one bit her tongue off.  Dunning says these are “all perfectly plausible injuries during such a traumatic death.”  He says their bodies remained buried until the spring thaw, in May, and this is typical of many avalanche victims.  He says what the hiker’s relatives saw, the strange brown tan or orange skin of the victims, at the funeral was a combination of 5 days of winter sunburn and the mortician’s attempt to cover up frostbite along with a full month of exposure to the elements.  And as for the reported gray hair of the victims?  Dunning says “who knows what hair would have looked like after all that exposure and who knows what kind of treatment done by the mortician.”  He notes not all of the people attending the funerals reported the victims all had gray hair BTW.  Dunning also says that if their hair had been turned gray by UFOs he certain the Soviets would have dyed it back to their natural colors before the funerals.  As Dunning says, “Their bodies had been exposed outdoors for weeks.  Of course they looked terrible.”  I agree!

So what about the radiation?  It could have come from the mantles of the camping lamps OR it could have been in the area for a long time and caused by the Soviets and their beloved weapons testing in the area back in 1959.  The amount and type of radiation found on the clothing was never revealed.  And as for the UFOs?  Dunning says people around the world report UFOs every day and with no real significant happenings like what happened to these hikers.  He says it is NOT surprising that people in the area that night say UFOs.  What did they have to do with the Dyatlov Party?  Dunning says it’s a statistically insignificant correlation and there is no reason to believe that UFOs killed these people.  Dunning says he considers the UFO question “irrelevant.”

Dunning goes on to speculate as to the victims being blinded.  He says this is “pure speculation” because these reports are based on only TWO observations.  Firstly, some of the victims were wearing the wrong clothes and, secondly, when they built their campfire they didn’t use dry wood which was nearby the cedar tree.  That does not mean they were blinded in his estimation.  He says there were 5 panicked people, underdressed, in subzero temperatures in nearly zero visibility darkness so it’s no wonder they didn’t find the dry wood for the fire and had the wrong clothes on.  As Dunning says they were lucky to get the fire going at all.  Dunning concludes by saying, “Summary:  I’m still looking for something in the Dyatlov Pass mystery that lacks a simple and mundane explanation.”

Addressing some other questions and speculations about the Dyatlov Pass incident.

After over 50 years now and the families of the victims still suspect something strange went on the night of February 2, 1959.  As I said the Dyatlov Foundation has been set up to honor the memory of these people in Russia.  The website “Aquiziam” (also called “Curious Web” on the internet) was given a letter by the foundation’s president, Yuri Kuntsevitch.  It is a letter of gratitude for their assistance in creating a wider awareness of what happened to these people.  As this website says not everyone involved in looking into this tragedy is impartial and objective.  Some people are using this tragedy to perpetuate their own beliefs and ideology.  The website says, “Sadly, there are now many websites that have simply recorded the dramatic aspects of this tragic event and over emphasized elements that are, in reality, easily explained.  We can only assume that is has been done for the purpose of sensationalism.”

The Infrasound Theory

Aquiziam says that rumors that the group had a rifle are unfounded.  There is a photo of someone holding a rifle but that photo is from an earlier expedition.  According to people who were involved with the team they were NOT armed with a rifle.  Further, regarding the one victim with her tongue apparently “cut out,” they say that it is true her tongue and parts of her mouth were missing when her body was found 2 months after the event.  In reality her tongue was NOT cut out or ripped from her mouth!  It was degraded because of her decomposing body which is very normal.  The site says they know this because it was fully acknowledged at the time in 1959 by investigators.

As for the strange orange or tan color of the bodies reported by some at the funerals, the website says this is NOT true, at least not of the first bodies found because those bodies were found not long after the event.  Those bodies discovered 2 months after the event DID have an orange or tannish discoloration to them which is normal and which is often seen by rescue teams that recover human remains that have been exposed to the elements for such a long time.  This website also says that some of the orange color is the result of photos taken at the time that degenerated in the images which is also true.

The Aquiziam website offers from excellent information about this tragedy at the link below under “sources.”  Many of the answers provided there are not only in depth but are very plausible.  It notes that the final 4 hikers were found in a ravine.  That ravine was a deep one and injuries found on those 4 bodies would be consistent with falls down into the ravine.  As for the victims hair turning a shade of gray or silver this apparently is not true as the Coroner actually recorded that the hair of the victims was all of natural color.  This website also speaks of the radiation found on some of the clothing of the hikers and says it may have come from the coat of one of the victims.  The radiation found was identified as isotope K-40 a very weak contamination and very superficial one as well.  It may have come from a laboratory and not from any weapon.  Don’t forget that these people were in college where experiments are done all the time.  Further, at that time the US and USSR were testing new atomic weapons so fall out radiation from those tests was not uncommon around the world.  As for the case reports being classified TOP SECRET this website says this claim is NOT true at all.

Regarding the skull injury of one of the victims, named Nicolas Tribeaux-Brignollel, the Aquiziam website says information gathered from his skull injury could go a long way in solving this mystery.  The coroner recorded that such a head injury was most likely to have been caused by impact with a rock resulting from a fall from a height between 6-10 feet but not higher.  Higher and faster falls than this normally break the apex or arch of the human skull with little evident trauma at to the base of the skull.  In this case, the apex of the skull was not damaged.  Further, evidence suggests this man was still alive when he sustained the skull injury and this injury was almost certainly caused by impact NOT pressure!  The pressure required to cause such an injury by pressure would have to have been 1-15 tons and there is no evidence of materials that could have caused this amount of pressure in the area.  Such a skull injury could have easily been caused by an impact such as hitting one’s head on a rock while falling.  There was also no evidence at all that the injury was caused by a concussion blast as such a blast would have caused additional trauma to the bodies of all of the victims.

Now, recall that those victims trying to return to the camp were buried under snow.  Their bodies were buried under the snow when found.  The bodies found 2 months later in May were under 4 feet of snow in the ravine but the bodies up on the slope were only under 1-1 1/2 feet of snow.  This phenomena is the result of wind and blowing snow along with the geography of the land.  Ravines and gullies will fill quickly.  Searchers who found the bodies in the ravine had to dig them out through 4 meters of snow!  Two to three months had seen the accumulation of significant snow buildup in the ravines all over the area.

Returning to Dunning’s speculation that these people were killed by an avalanche, many do not believe this to be the case.  Searchers said that the area had no signs of an avalanche having taken place.  Modern terrain related physics has revealed that the location of the incident is NOT conducive to the formation of snow build up that would cause an avalanche.  Since the incident there have been more than 100 expeditions into the area and NONE of them have ever reported conditions conducive to creating an avalanche.  Further, the first bodies were found within 10 days of the event and those bodies were only covered by a shallow layer of blown snow that came down from the mountain above via winds.  The tent has not been impacted with any form of snow flow of a strength that would have knocked over the tent poles.  It had collapsed laterally not horizontally.  An avalanche would have left snow flow patterns and other debris distributed over a wide area.  None of this was found at the scene of the camp.

An avalanche that could sweep 4 people beyond the tree line some 1.5 kilometers from the tent and into a deep ravine would have had to have had tremendous power.  If this had been the case then injuries on the bodies would have been far more serious and different.  Also, such an avalanche would have damaged the tree line at the point of impact.  None of this was found to be the case in this tragedy.  Further, an analysis of the terrain, the slope, and the incline in the area where the camp was indicates that even if there was an epoch avalanche it trajectory would have bypassed the tent and camp.  The leader of the group, Dyatlov, and another one of the men, Zolotarev, were both experienced skiers.  Neither of these two men would have ever allowed a camp to be set up in a place where they thought an avalanche might happen!

One of the most interesting questions and answers on the Aquiziam website is the last one at the bottom of the Q&A page.  The question is whether the answer to this mystery could be an Infrasound phenomenon!  And the answer is YES!

The website says that this Infrasound phenomenon could be the “real reason for the panic that gripped the skiers.”  They say that the Infrasound phenomenon is a probable explanation as to what happened on that night in February 1959 and it’s something new that people are only just now beginning to understand.  So what is this Infrasound phenomenon?

Infrasound is a sound that is lower in frequency than 20 Hz or cycles per second which is lower than human hearing.  For humans to hear infrasound the sound pressure has to be sufficiently high.  Infrasound might then be heard by the ear but more likely it would be felt in various parts of the body.  During WW1 the allies used infrasound to locate artillery.  A large fan and duct system can produce infrasound that can cause one’s ear drums to hurt and things in a room to even shake.  Infrasound sometimes occurs naturally during severe weather, avalanches, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, waterfalls, calving of icebergs, lightning, and even ocean waves.  Man-made processes such as sonic booms and explosions can also cause infrasound as can diesel engines and wind turbines.  Large scale subwoofer speakers can also cause the phenomena.  It is also known that animals such as elephants, alligators, whales, giraffes, etc. use infrasound to communicate over distances.  Whales can use this communication of infrasound over hundreds of miles.  Some scientists believe that migrating birds may use it as a navigation aid.  Elephants use infrasound waves that travel through solid ground that are sensed by other herds using their feet even though they are miles apart.  Animals have been known to sense infrasonic waves going through the earth made by natural disasters using them as an early warning of the impending disaster.  For example, in the 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, animals fled long before the disaster.

When it comes to humans and infrasound some people might hear it and think it is a loud sound while others may not hear it at all.  Infrasound has been known to cause feelings of awe or fear in human beings!  In can make some people feel like some sort of supernatural even is happening too.  Infrasound caused by wind turbines that effects people is known as “Wind Turbine Syndrome” that causes headaches, dizziness, and nausea in both humans and animals near the turbines.

Some researchers suspect that infrasound may even have a relationship to SOME ghost sightings!
In these cases it is believed that infrasound makes the eyeballs fibrate inside your head and, thus, causes an optical illusion.  The somewhat famous New Mexico Hum is believed by some to be caused by this infrasound as well as other phenomena.

So, natural events can cause infrasound and humans and animals can “hear” it with either their ears of bodies, or both, or not at all.  When things like the volcano Krakatoa blew its top the “ringing” of the earth and atmosphere continued for hours.  Wind can also cause infrasound.  Wind and storms can generate infrasound too.  Some people can hear the Jetstream winds and its thunderous pitch.  The Jetstream winds generate ultralow pitch sounds which make some people feel weak and tired.  Infrasound can be used to make strong rock walls fall flat into tiny pieces.  It can blow through windows and walls can be toppled by infrasonic impulses.

What might sustained influences be on humans and human behavior?  In some places nomads hear mysterious desert humming sounds fill the night and they are filled with a sense of dread.  Deep, buzzing, and threatening sounding these humming tones can produce anxiety and fear among the nomads and have for centuries now!  Infrasound may also cause hallucinations like the ghost walls seen be nomads in the desert for centuries and reflected in myths and folktales.  Infrasound can cause seasonal depression and anxiety in some locations, seasonal nervous exhaustion in others, and Nero physical maladies in still other places which sometimes result in human fatalities.

Infrasound can travel long distances often exceeding 1000 miles with the SAME force and intensity as when they began!  They can also carry a deadly pressure.  Some researchers believe infrasound’s potential effects on human and human behavior can be absolutely frightening.  Some scholars believe they can even alter or modify large scale social behavior in humans.  It does NOT take much acoustic power to generate infrasound that produce extreme and sustained effects on humans and animals.

FOHN winds are dry and warm southerly winds in the Alpine regions of Europe.  Fun weather is weather of clear skies, high visibility, and a dry atmosphere.  Studies of this form of weather reveal they can cause extreme irritability, accident prone loss of objective judgment, slight disorientation, mild nausea, and diarrhea thanks to the infrasound the wind and weather produces.  It is a sustained and proven FACT that sustained low intensity infrasound alters human health and human behavior!  Earthquakes, fire, floods, engines, wind, storms, and many other natural and man-made things can produce infrasound and that infrasound CAN and DOES effect human health and human behavior!!  So, in fact, infrasound could have literally driven the victims of the tragedy literally insane on the night of February 2, 1959 in the Russian Ural Mountains!

Investigator’s Conclusions on the Dyatlov Pass Mystery

Nine people went on a trek in a snowy region of the Urals trying to reach a goal.  But they were forced to stay the night before they got to their goal and had to set up camp on a lot near a deep ravine.  I think things most likely went normally for most of the time and at some point during the night everything began to go chaotic.  There was blowing snow, poor visibility, a storm, winds, etc.  I do not think there was an avalanche.  I do not think UFO’s attacked and killed these people.  I don’t think they had an encounter with Bigfoot (there were no other tracks except their own).  I think INFRASOUND is clearly the answer to this mystery!  And that infrasound was caused by the snow storm and winds.

I think several of the people in the party of 9 were affected by this infrasound and went crazy and probably had hallucinations inside the tent.  I suspect these people ripped or cut open the tent and went running out half naked into the night and the storm while the others got dressed and began searching for them.  I think the people in the ravine were the ones who went crazy due to the infrasound and the other 6 went looking for them.  The 4 crazed ones were the ones found in the ravine under the snow.  The others were the ones who had gone looking for their crazed friends and most likely having no clue why they went nutts.  These 6 who were searching for their crazed friends most likely succumbed to hypothermia quickly and died.  And the crazed 4 were either already dead or dying as well at the same time.  These 4 started a fire under the cedar tree but they were so crazed that they most likely had another psychotic episode caused by infrasound and didn’t have sense enough to stay near the fire.  Fact is, cold can KILL and it can kill rather quickly especially if you have no sufficient clothing on and are sweating.  Either this infrasound phenomena explains the mystery or these people were drunk and/or drugged out.  There is no indication of this in the reports from the time, however.  Most likely, I think, it was the effects of this infrasound phenomena that cause hysteria in the camp that night and that lead to the death of all 9 people, sadly.

So you’re still wondering about the glowing orbs seen by other hikers and campers in the area and people in the nearby villages.  What were they?  UFO’s?

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t just believe in UFOs.  I know for a FACT that they are real because I’ve stood right under one of the damned things fully conscious and sober!  I’ve seen several of them and for the time being I’ll stop there.  What other campers and villagers were reporting that night were glowing orbs which may or may not have been UFOs.  In fact, they may have been something very natural in the region.

In some areas there are what are called “earth lights.”  These phenomena appear prior to earthquakes in some areas of the globe.  They are one example of “glowing orbs.”  There is also the case of the “foo fighters” spotted by and encountered by hundreds of allied pilots over Europe during WW2, my uncle being one of them.  Some pilots flew right through them and nothing happened.  Some planes were affected by these phenomena and had instrument and engine trouble and others did not. What were they?  Glowing orbs!  Another case in point.  I’ve heard reports of what I initially thought were people reporting fire flies until they told me how big the things were.  Obliviously, they were too big to be fire flies.  What were they?  Glowing orbs!  The fact is there are all kinds of glowing orbs that have been observed by people all over the world.  UFOs?  Some of them may be but NOT all of them.  Some are natural occurring phenomena IMO.  I’ve even heard reports that people have seen what appeared to be glowing orbs prior to, after, and even during storms.  Is this what the people were seeing in the Urals on the night of February 2, 1959?  Maybe.

Let me conclude by telling you a little incident of my own I had years ago with a glowing orb.  I was out in the midst of nowhere with some people who had reported UFO to me in the night.  For about 30 minutes we sat atop a hill watching dancing lights rising into the air and falling to the ground in the distance.  Suddenly one of these lights came closer to us and we all walked down off of the hill and into the rocky valley below.  As we were walking we saw the light shoot a smaller light out of it. The smaller light went northward low on the horizon and disappeared, so we thought.  When we got to the edge of the valley the little light came around a rocky corner and scared the hell out of all of us, me included.  It was a fiery orb no doubt about it!!  UFO?  Probe?  In this case, yes, I think that is exactly what it was and it was clear that it was being operated by intelligence.

What happened to the Dyatlov Party was very unfortunate and I think the best possible explanation is infrasound phenomenon.  There is no evidence to suggest anything else IMO including an avalanche.  So, as far as I’m concerned….CASE SOLVED!