Dyatlov Pass incident

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Might find interesting

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/05/mountaineers-recover-cameras-lost-in-1937-expedition-to-canadian-peak

[Joshua Rogan]

Thanks, Joshua,

Yeah, I recall that the trek was to achieve the highest level of difficulty hiking award.

I think a lot of the stipulations were to do with the duration and difficulty of the terrain.

I don't remember any specifications about the tent needing to be unheated, but it's entirely likely that I have just forgotten or missed that particular aspect.

I may have dreamed that bit, Ms D! I'll have a dig for the info....

Ah, I think this is it. Yes, I can't see anything about a cold tent, so I obviously made that bit up. I think I misremembered or misunderstood the highlighted section below.

"For example, for the third ski category (the one that was planned for the Dyatlov group), it was equal in total length to at least 300 km, of which at least 100 km they had to go with overcoming natural obstacles i.e. steep uphill climbs, steep descents, tracing (making a path in deep snow) ski tracks, moving through a dense forest with undergrowth, moving in a treeless area far from villages, etc.

The total duration of the trip was to be at least 16 days, including in a completely unpopulated area - at least 8 days. This means that the distance to the nearest village should be at least two large daytime crossings - at least 50, 60 km. Moreover, they had to make at least 6 nights completely in winter conditions. This means that they had to fully organize the night with only the set of equipment that they brought with them. The overnight stay in huts, shelters, or abandoned houses should not exceed 10 days out of 16."

[Ms Diddles]

it might have been frozen stuck and or somehow unaccesable

Yeah, that's a possibility Abby.

[Ms Diddles]

Everything that happened can be explained by panic. People woken in the middle of the night by a real, or even imagined, avalanche aren't always thinking clearly.

Hmmmmm!

I hear what you're saying Fiver, but I'm with c.d in that I don't think an orderly trek a mile in duration is indicative of blind panic and disorientation.

I find it weird.

[Ms Diddles]

From memory, I think it was a condition of the hiking certificate they were hoping to earn that they spend a certain number of nights in an unheated tent. Which would explain why the stove was never unpacked. And, if true (and also assuming it was a wood-burning stove), they probably wouldn't have bothered lugging wood for it up the mountainside to the campsite.

Thanks, Joshua,

Yeah, I recall that the trek was to achieve the highest level of difficulty hiking award.

I think a lot of the stipulations were to do with the duration and difficulty of the terrain.

I don't remember any specifications about the tent needing to be unheated, but it's entirely likely that I have just forgotten or missed that particular aspect.

[Joshua Rogan]

From memory, I think it was a condition of the hiking certificate they were hoping to earn that they spend a certain number of nights in an unheated tent. Which would explain why the stove was never unpacked. And, if true (and also assuming it was a wood-burning stove), they probably wouldn't have bothered lugging wood for it up the mountainside to the campsite.

[Fiver]

Everything that happened can be explained by panic. People woken in the middle of the night by a real, or even imagined, avalanche aren't always thinking clearly.

[Ms Diddles]

howmany were in one tent? ive wondered if they were also running out of oxygen/ getting carbon monoxide poisoning from so many people breathing in a small enclosed space and getting dizzy before the weather and snow event.

There were nine of them in the tent, Abby.

IIRC the tent was quite large and was actually two tents stitched together (unless I'm misremembering that!).

I think in terms of them breathing in exhaled air it'd be carbon dioxide rather than carbon monoxide they were inhaling, although there was talk of the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning from the stove (but most reports stated that the stove was still in it's box and hadn't been lit).

[Abby Normal]

howmany were in one tent? ive wondered if they were also running out of oxygen/ getting carbon monoxide poisoning from so many people breathing in a small enclosed space and getting dizzy before the weather and snow event.

[Abby Normal]

I always thought it strange that they didn't unzip the tent or have some means of exit preplanned in case of an avalanche. My feeling is that there was something else going on as well as an avalanche or weather event.

c.d.

it might have been frozen stuck and or somehow unaccesable

[c.d.]

I always thought it strange that they didn't unzip the tent or have some means of exit preplanned in case of an avalanche. My feeling is that there was something else going on as well as an avalanche or weather event.

c.d.

[Ms Diddles]

Yeah, Josh Gates made the point that the tent was their lifeline. He and some other team members stood outside for a few minutes at night just to see what it would be like. They were all warmly dressed but after a couple minutes said geez we have to get into the tent.

c.d.

I find it hard to conceive of circumstances under which one would not only leave the tent in those conditions, but actually damage it in such a way as to make it probably irreparable.

The hikers would have been aware that the tent was their only realistic chance of survival.

The only thing I can surmise is that whatever happened presented a greater and more immediate threat than the risk of hypothermia.

An avalanche would fit that bill.

[c.d.]

Yeah, Josh Gates made the point that the tent was their lifeline. He and some other team members stood outside for a few minutes at night just to see what it would be like. They were all warmly dressed but after a couple minutes said geez we have to get into the tent.

c.d.

[Ms Diddles]

Hello Ms. Diddles,

Thanks for your response. The point that I was trying to make is that a mile is a very long distance from the tent. If there had been an avalanche or some type of weather event it is reasonable to assume that they tried to put distance between themselves and the tent and became disoriented and unsure where the tent was now located. But if that were the case, I would expect that they would have ended up several hundred yards from the tent not a mile. They were experienced hikers and knew the dangers of hypothermia. But as I pointed out, given a walking speed of two miles an hour (which is probably generous) it would take 30 minutes of continuous walking to walk a mile. The wind chill was way below zero and they were only clad in long underwear and no boots. They must have been aware that getting back to the tent was their only hope and yet they ended up a mile away. Just doesn't add up.

Oh! I take your point c.d.

It's one of the many facets of this case which just don't appear to make sense.

I'd love to be able to provide a cohesive narrative which explains all the facts but I'm with you, in that it just doesn't add up for me either.

I guess that's why we're so fascinated by it.

I'll maybe watch Expedition Unknown again as it's a while since I saw it.

[c.d.]

Hello Ms. Diddles,

Thanks for your response. The point that I was trying to make is that a mile is a very long distance from the tent. If there had been an avalanche or some type of weather event it is reasonable to assume that they tried to put distance between themselves and the tent and became disoriented and unsure where the tent was now located. But if that were the case, I would expect that they would have ended up several hundred yards from the tent not a mile. They were experienced hikers and knew the dangers of hypothermia. But as I pointed out, given a walking speed of two miles an hour (which is probably generous) it would take 30 minutes of continuous walking to walk a mile. The wind chill was way below zero and they were only clad in long underwear and no boots. They must have been aware that getting back to the tent was their only hope and yet they ended up a mile away. Just doesn't add up.