At the beginning of March 1959, the millennial calm of the Kholat-Syakhil mountain was disturbed by the roar of aircraft engines. Airplanes and helicopters were barraging at low altitude in the sky. Subdivisions of internal troops combed snow-covered cliffs in squares, together with groups of volunteers - climbers.
Search engines were hoping for a miracle. A group of tourists disappeared, led by an experienced instructor Woodpeckers. The expedition left Sverdlovsk on January 23, according to the plan, it was supposed to return in 21 days, but all reasonable terms passed.
The group consisted of nine people, two of them were girls. In addition to them, two more wanted to take part in the campaign, but it didn’t work out, one suddenly got sciatica, and the other had to take institute “tails”. Just the case when there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped.
So, a group of five students and three graduates was led by a mountain instructor Dyatlov. The expedition planned to climb the Otorten peak, having made a week-long ski crossing. Everything went according to plan, it was established that on February 1, on a slope of Kholat-Syakhil, ten kilometers from the target, tourists set up a camp.
After a 25-day search, five were found, they were dead. The terrible find did not reveal the cause of their death, but only added questions. First they found an empty tent, there were things and food in it, and it was cut open. The tracks led in different directions, showing that the tourists in a panic left the place for the night. There were no warm clothes on the dead; she remained in the tent.
There was no doubt that the cause of death was hypothermia. Closest to everyone from the camp lay the body of one of the girls, Kolmogorova Zina. Two guys managed to make a fire in a half-kilometer, under a large tree, and froze when it went out. Between this cedar and tent Igor Dyatlov was found. The expedition consisted of nine people, the fate of four was still unknown.
They were found in May, under the snow, near Lozva. Unlike previously found corpses, these were severely mutilated, and the second girl was missing her tongue. Forensic experts had big questions about the color of the skin of the dead, it was orange-purple.
All these facts suggested the unusual circumstances of the death of a group of tourists led by Woodpeckers. The expedition, according to the conclusion signed by the head of the investigative department Lukin and the prosecutor-criminalist Ivanov, died as a result of exposure to an irresistible elemental force of an unknown nature. Further investigation yielded no results.
Extreme tourism is associated with risk. The death of climbers in the mountains always becomes an emergency, but it is not surprising. After reporting another tragedy, most people forget about it. The exception is the group led by Woodpeckers. The 1959 expedition to this day serves as a theme for the most daring and fantastic hypotheses.
There were speculations about the reprisal inflicted by the secret services that eliminated unwanted witnesses, but this version is not very plausible, if only because in this case the picture would be given maximum naturalness.
Alien participation is also, to put it mildly, unlikely. The possibility of involvement of local residents of the Khanty and Mansi nationalities, who avenged shrines scolded by tourists, was seriously considered. The investigation was moving in that direction, even the reindeer herders were arrested, but they did not find any confirmation.
Recently, an assumption has arisen about the sudden exit of gas from rocks, the effect of which on the body is unpredictable.
Apparently, in the near future, humanity will not know the reliable reason why the Dyatlov expedition died . Photos taken on the slope of Kholat-Syakhyl in 1959, published in printed articles on this topic, became a means to interest the reader. The tragic fate of young people inspires writers to write science fiction novels. Curious people come here ...