The Frightening, Unsolved and Disturbing Incident of Nine Dead Skiers

Originally posted by raptor28
It was ultimately discovered that what happened was an avalanche that occurred setting the string of events in play. The avalanche destroyed a large portion of the camp and those who were in their tents cut their way out. After a period of exposure, the skiers developed severe hypothermia. One of the odd things about hypothermia is that it can cause those affected to behave very strangely, i.e., removing articles of clothing in attempts to warm themselves. This occurs secondarily to a decreased amount of cerebral blood flow, thereby inhibiting the brain from processing input properly. It is somewhat of a commonplace occurrence for hypothermic patients to remove clothes actually.
The missing tongue is also easily explained in that it was most likely removed by a wild animal. Animals will tend to eat warm, soft tissue rather than cold, toughened tissue, i.e., frozen muscle in a state of rigor mortis. Going after the tongue makes perfect sense in this case since the mouth would most likely have been closed, therefore retaining a greater amount of heat and thereby attracting the animal(s).
This was essentially a perfect storm of crappy things to happen, but it has been explained adequately enough to rule out extremely non-parsimonious explanations.

[edit on 9-4-2009 by raptor28]

I, too read this explanation; or attempt at an explanation. But, it does not explain why all the bodies were tanned a strange orange color and their hair had turned completely silver-gray.
This is a fascinating mystery. I just began reading about it last night and was going to do a thread on it, but saw that there were already several threads opened here.

I have read several really good explanations of what happened, but no one story seems to explain every detail.

There has been some discussion that the Russians were doing some aeronautical testing, that would explain the radiation, the strange metal and the orange skin and gray hair. But it still leaves some loose ends.

While I'm still somewhat dismissive of the notion of "alien spacecrafts" having any sort of involvement in this incident. I admit after rereading an old book by Raymond Fowler I'm more on the fence about the possibility,

"Enrico! Enrico! Get away from the window!" shrieked Janet as she plunged under the bedcovers in fright.

Enrico did not move a muscle. Spellbound and only half believing what his eyes and ears told him was plainly there, he just stared. Suspended about one hundred feet above the ground and only three hundred feet away from the window was a lighted object fully as large as a ten-wheel truck! Two softly glowing orange lights affixed to its top and bottom midsection unmistakably outlined an unworldly structure. It was shaped like two grayish bowls, one inverted upon another and connected by a darker rim. Enrico leaned transfixed against the open screened window for a full minute before the object smoothly tilted upwards and moved slowly away into the early morning darkness.

...

"Did your neighbors say anything about seeing or hearing anything strange?" I asked.

Enrico looked at me sheepishly and remarked, "Both of us felt sort of funny about telling the neighbors about this so, we just casually asked them if they had heard anything strange during the night. Three different families told us that they were awakened by what they assumed was a low-flying jet.

I then confessed to them that I had already interviewed their next-door neighbors. They told me that a loud humming sound had awakened them about 1:00 A.M. The husband had just returned home from working a night shift. He told me that no sooner had he dropped off into a sound sleep when a "loud vibrating sound" filled the house.

"My wife kept telling me to get up to see what it was. I was too tired to get right up and was trying to figure out what it could be. Before I could collect my senses, the noise went away so I went back to sleep."

"What did it sound like?" I asked. He told me that he had flown B-17s during World War II and had been reactivated during the Korean conflict.

"I thought I was familiar with aircraft sounds, but this sound was different. It seemed to go right through you!" (pp. 3-5)

Source: Ufos: Interplanetary Visitors, Raymond E. Fowler, Published by iUniverse, Incorporated, 2001 ISBN 0595186947, 9780595186945, 365 pages

That screams subsonics. Then again modern day jets do have a subsonic component. So there's always possibility it was an experimental craft, but then there's that nagging "what if ... it was something else?"

[edit on 17-6-2009 by Xtraeme]

The more I read about ultrasonics / subsonics the more I'm convinced it had something to do what happened in the Urals. Just today in the news I read that:

A new ultrasound device, used in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), allows neurosurgeons to precisely burn out small pieces of malfunctioning brain tissue without cutting the skin or opening the skull. A preliminary study from Switzerland involving nine patients with chronic pain shows that the technology can be used safely in humans. The researchers now aim to test it in patients with other disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.

"The groundbreaking finding here is that you can make lesions deep in the brain--through the intact skull and skin--with extreme precision and accuracy and safety," says Neal Kassell, a neurosurgeon at the University of Virginia. Kassell, who was not directly involved in the study, is chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation, a nonprofit based in Charlottesville, VA, that was founded to develop new applications for focused ultrasound.

...

The ultrasound beams are focused on a specific point in the brain--the exact location depends on the condition being treated--that absorbs the energy and converts it to heat. This raises the temperature to about 130 degrees Fahrenheit and kills the cells in a region approximately 10 cubic millimeters in volume. The entire system is integrated with a magnetic resonance scanner, which allows neurosurgeons to make sure they target the correct piece of brain tissue. "Thermal images acquired in real time during the treatment allow the surgeon to see where and to what extent the rise in temperature is achieved," says Zadicario.

www.technologyreview.com...

Very strange story indeed. Great find OP!

I found this thread in a very roundabout way but im glad i did chance across it.

What an interesting story!

I havent read all the posts but i think i will go back and make the effort with this one.

Originally posted by debris765nju
Let me show you what i know of alien attacks of this type. What i have to show is the alien abduction of Scott Pendleton and Jen Fox in Red Rock park on February 14, 2005. The date and time of the attack is recorded on a video. It shows several glowing saucer shapes hovering behind a rectangular cloud. The cloud ejects a red-hot smoking mass of ejecta that crashes to the ground close to them, i believe the cloud to be a cloaked saucer. Scott hands Jen the camera and runs to the impact site. Jen follows still recording the action. Scott get close but the heat keeps him back. The molten like mass splits emitting a cloud of steam. Scott is stung and jumps back. Jen wants to leave but Scott wants just one more shot....It was his last one. Scott was attacked by what seems to be an animal at first, four legs, a head and a tail. In less than 1/2 a second this thing makes an appearance, encircles Scott's head in a seamless circle as a nearly invisible head slams into his chest and takes him down. The "body" of the creature morphs, extending into the apparent undergrowth. During the time of the attack Jen Fox was also attacked about the head, the camera (at this time on the ground) shows her being lifted up and violently being slammed down. Neither has been seen since.[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0b8db9463668.jpg[/atsimg]

ummm. no.

thebestevidence.blogspot.com...

Originally posted by Silver Star
I found this thread in a very roundabout way but im glad i did chance across it.

What an interesting story!

I havent read all the posts but i think i will go back and make the effort with this one.

Same here, I found it from the "If you could bring back your thread" thread in the board business forum.

Too bad that maybe due to the age, some of the links to pictures don't work, such as the picture of a tent with a chimney.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is an interesting theory.

The avalanche theory would be good if there were signs of an avalanche, but I'm not seeing that. However the only exception might be that snow traveling at 100 miles an hour just might be able to cause severe internal injuries, without leaving severe signs of external injuries to the bodies. In fact, what else besides snow, (or water, which wasn't around them) can cause internal injuries without external injuries? So the nature of those injuries is a puzzling part of the case.

The tongue missing doesn't seem too mysterious. The radiation claims are dubious.

But I learned something from this case, as I really didn't know about "Paradoxical undressing" in fatal hypothermia.

The phenomenon called paradoxical undressing has been described from 33 cases of hypothermia collected from Swedish police reports. The cases were almost evenly distributed with regard to sex, age, and geographical distribution. The cases occurred more frequently in open land although cases from town areas were also found. Most incidents were recorded from November to February at low ambient temperatures, although cases were also reported at temperatures above 0 degree C. Arteriosclerosis and chronic alcoholism were important concomitant illnesses, the latter being frequent in middle-aged men. Epilepsy, diabetes, and pregnancy were present in single cases. Ethanol and other drugs were present in 67% of the males and in 78% of the females, ethanol predominating in men and various psychotropic agents in women. The mean blood ethanol concentration in males was 0.16% and in females, 0.18%. Most frequent findings at necropsy were purple spots or discoloration on the extremities, pulmonary edema, and gastric hemorrhages. It is concluded that paradoxical undressing might be explained by changes in peripheral vasoconstriction in the deeply hypothermic person. It represents the last effort of the victim and is followed almost immediately by unconsciousness and death.

However I note that many of the victims in that study were drunk, and it's rumored the Russians love their Vodka so you have to wonder if alcohol was involved.

That's the most interesting part of the case to me, that people who are freezing to death respond by taking off their clothes!!! Fact is sometimes stranger than fiction! But do you see the part of that quote about "gastric hemorrhages"? Is there any possibility of confusing those with internal injuries? Maybe not, just wondering.

However I note that many of the victims in that study were drunk, and it's rumored the Russians love their Vodka so you have to wonder if alcohol was involved.

You clearly do not know the case.
Alcohol was not the problem here.

No time now, but i've collected everything i could about this one, and case is not simple at all.
This was not only occurence of that type THERE in that area, all i can say now.
Some of you probably read about geologists death in similar situation in that area?

Also, just read this(let's say, it is not important now):
www.world-mysteries.com...

Now, read this(RECOMMENDED, really):
www.astrologycom.com...
For reason unknown(or semi-known, tbh) i am having that strange feeling of link here.

What is interesting, it seems that some had same thoughts as me(more or less):
www.forteantimes.com...

Although joining Tunguska meteorite with all these data may be risky... try to imagine that lonely VAST spaces shrouded with mystery.

www.forteantimes.com...

---------------
More later(if someone's interested, location maps, area drawings, photos etc).
few links to read:

Part 1:
www.aquiziam.com...

Part2:
www.aquiziam.com...

Few answers for common questions:
www.aquiziam.com...

------
I strongly recommend to keep western stereotypes about russians out of this case.
These men knew what they were doing, lead by VERY experienced survivalist(not some stupid drunkard from Dover).

btw, here's DOC i made from discussion taken from some place about this case:

www.easy-share.com...
Very interesting talk, imho, lots of ideas, there's even post of man from university that Dyatlov was from. Interesting material to read.



[edit on 20-7-2010 by potential_problem]

Originally posted by potential_problem
You clearly do not know the case.
Alcohol was not the problem here.

You apparently didn't read my post. I didn't say alcohol was the problem. However I noted that studies of people who remove their clothes when they are dying of hypothermia show that alcohol is frequently a factor in that paradoxical behavior, so I think it's fair to wonder if alcohol could be a contributing factor in the removal of clothes by people who are freezing to death. If the bodies had already been dead for weeks before they were found, I'm not sure how accurate BAC (blood alcohol content) tests would be.

But I'm not suggesting alcohol might be the reason they would cut open the tent from the inside and leave it to begin with, so whether alcohol was involved or not, something else seemed to spook them away from the campsite. The CO theory someone proposed makes as much or more sense than any other theory I've seen, though I'm far from sure about that.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


Tell me something:
Dyatlov loved mountains, and he was experienced, it was not his first trip like that.
He was responsible for his friends and it was not walk in park.
Bottle of alcohol was found in place but, if i remember right, it was full(i will skip thousands of reasons why they would have alcohol).
Do you really think, that they would drink heavily after hard day, before next hard day?

There are some things that are striking me(especially after seeing maps of camp and terrain, etc etc), but i cannot talk about this right now.
I can only say, that they DID not want to get to forest, that could save them from POTENTIAL avalanche. They could see that forest(

Originally posted by potential_problem
But so far, i did not read ONE plausible explanation.

I don't think the avalanche explanation covers it.

But I found the carbon monoxide poisoning theory somewhat plausible, what did you think of that?

But I found the carbon monoxide poisoning theory somewhat plausible, what did you think of that?

hmm, you mean light source(s) that they had in tent?
it could be, but...lantern was found ON the top of tent...hung outside.
That's weird, why they did not take it??
Sorry, if you thought about something else, i did not read whole topic here, actually.

I could imagine this:
They were almost sleeping and suddenly heard SOUND, something(let's say they thought: avalanche!).
Something, that led them acting VERY fast, ripping tent(it was ripped from inside) and going out.
BUT:
i doubt, that they would be naked, damn, at this temperature they should sleep quite clothed.
If danger was not real, why they didn't go back into the tent?
Tent was made by Dyatlov(from 2 smaller ones), and i could bet he had methods to fix it.
Then - why they did split?
Etc, etc..

You should see maps, this adds element of weirdness to the case, i will post it, need to browse HDD...


-----------------
ahhh, btw, guys, you may find reading Terror by Dan Simmons fabulous addition to Dyatlov case, great book.


[edit on 20-7-2010 by potential_problem]

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

Originally posted by potential_problem
But so far, i did not read ONE plausible explanation.

I don't think the avalanche explanation covers it.

But I found the carbon monoxide poisoning theory somewhat plausible, what did you think of that?

Good to see an old thread of mine getting attention

I dont think Carbon Monoxide was plausible at all. All bodies were found away from the camp, either in the forest, halfway between the forest and camp, or in a ravine that was 75 metres away from the camp. Plus, they did leave in a hurry, some without protective clothes or even shoes

How can somebody with CO poisoning get that far away?

And as for the avalanche, the tent wasnt completely covered, and neither were the belongings

I am SO glad this thread was bumped! I was talking to a customer at work about this incident. He was very interested and had heard about it loosely before. I knew I had read a thread on it last year but I couldn't find it without any information. Now I know the thread! Thanks!! I have to play catch up then I can contribute more.

I think the avalanche theory was prooved as quite feasible , the camp was under a prime slope for avalanches? the radioactivity could have come frm the wicks in the lanterns...

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
How can somebody with CO poisoning get that far away?

The theory was proposed by ziggystar60 back on page 10, just look at the symptoms listed, none of which say they couldn't have wandered away from the tent in a confused state (except for death, but that's the last symptom, and they didn't get enough CO to kill them, hypothermia or injuries did that.):

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by ziggystar60
The strange behaviour of the skiers (the tent being sliced open from inside, two of the bodies found only in their underwear, some of the tracks left by people wearing socks, one shoe, or no footwear at all) may be explained by the effects of carbon monoxid poisoning:

Exposure to carbon monoxide causes flu-like symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, impaired judgment, loss of manual dexterity, and even loss of consciousness. In severe cases, CO poisoning can cause brain damage and death.

www.deltafire.ca...

"dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, impaired judgment" sounds like just the type of symptoms one might look for to explain what on the surface appears to be behavior consistent with confusion and impaired judgment. I'm by no means convinced that's the cause, but just saying of the explanations I've read, it's at least SOMEWHAT plausible.

Maybe there was a catalyst, like perhaps some freaky animal scream that just pushed them into an irrational escape from the camp in their confused and dazed state if their brains were already clouded with CO.

Originally posted by gambon
I think the avalanche theory was prooved as quite feasible , the camp was under a prime slope for avalanches?

I read the article on cracked.com about that and it was less than convincing. For one thing the amount of snow on their tent seemed miniscule if there was an avalanche. you saw the photo of the tent as found, right?

Have you got any other sources that are more convincing?

the radioactivity could have come from the wicks in the lanterns...

I don't think the radioactivity claims are particularly credible, though lantern wicks are indeed radioactive as you say.

Here is what happend from start to finish

1. Pack of wild animals scares them by making loud threatening noises and messing with there tents.

2. They cut open there tents and ran like sissies.

3. First group climbed a tree to get away from them but the pack stayed there waiting so the sissies died of hypothermia.

4. Other group slipped and fell down a massive slope causing severe internal injuries and caused a avalanche that covered there sissy bodies.

5. The radiation part is simply made up.

Doesn't take a genius guys, part of being a consperisy theorist is knowing what real and fake.

Originally posted by Blackstar791
Here is what happend from start to finish
1. Pack of wild animals scares them by making loud threatening noises and messing with there tents.

Since I just suggested an animal noise may have spooked them, I wouldn't rule out that idea.

But if there had been animals messing with the tents, wouldn't they have left tracks next to the human tracks? Or do you think they did and nobody happened to mention the animal tracks?

Too bad there aren't more, closer photos of the campsite that might show specifically what tracks were or were not there. The report says the human tracks indicate all the people left the campsite apparently of their own will, and there were no other human tracks, but I don't recall it mentioning the presence or absence of animal tracks.

Were Search dogs used?
If so, they could have messed things up so other animal tracks wouldn't be noticed.

As to the freezing to death and removing clothing.
I have read that the process involves a stage of feeling very warm.

A very long time ago living in the boonies in Northen Wisconsin there was a couple who would walk to town (about 3 miles from their house) and get drunk. They didn't usually do this together, so it was only one of them walking home at nite. A few times one of them was found sleeping in a snow bank, and the part about feeling warm and drowsy when freezing was mentioned.