The Frightening, Unsolved and Disturbing Incident of Nine Dead Skiers

I believe they were high on some kind of drug, they partied, laughed, joked around, then the mood changed; maybe they argued and even fought each other, they begun hallucinating, one scaring the other, until they freaked out when the cold wind blew and they thought it was an avalanche, so they rushed in the open, some of them might have sliced a hole through the tent as they struggled to get out; and the rest is history.

Radiation, broken ribs and crushed skull, missing tongue could have reasonable explanation, and many people have provided good point regarding those.

reply to post by Jumadax


I am afraid the most obvious explanation has been overlooked.

Vodka.

Vodka explains everything.

It's an apparently unsolved case... but the good news is that this does not happen on a regular basis. It's been 54 years and 5 months since the incident.

reply to post by OzWeatherman


I remember this mystery, and actually intended to research it for myself. The biggest problem with stories like this is that there are little things added to it over time to make certain things more intriguing to a certain audience...

When I first read about this mystery years ago, there was no mention of flying orbs at all, and I believe the radiation found was explained by their work or studies at the time.

I might have to come back to this at a later time, and do that research I planned to do years ago!

Originally posted by santtu
reply to post by Jumadax

 

I am afraid the most obvious explanation has been overlooked.

Vodka.

Vodka explains everything.

Even the traumatic injuries on their bodies? Injuries not caused by marauding bears or wolves, according to the Russians who studied the case.

I hardly think so.

When I read this story I thought of cattle/human mutilations. The four with the serious internal injuries were killed by a mysterious force. The others were terrified and ran, attempting to return to camp but dying from exposure. When will human race face it we are living on a earth with a stealthy hidden aggressive entities who pick of humans for sport.

Originally posted by AthlonSavage
When I read this story I thought of cattle/human mutilations. The four with the serious internal injuries were killed by a mysterious force.

There's no clear-cut answer which makes this case interesting. This is related to the avalanche theory:

www.forteantimes.com...

the character of the group’s injuries is consistent with the impact of a large amount of snow pressing them to the skis that were used as a tent floor, and that this explains why they showed no external bruises or scratches.

Wikipedia now has another theory by A. Rakitin about a secret KGB operation which would explain the radiation, and mentions some circumstantial evidence about an unprecedented level of KGB firings or demotions after the incident.

en.wikipedia.org...

There is a theory by A. Rakitin, according to which several members of the group were secret staff of KGB: Semyon Zolotariov, Alexander Kolevatov and possibly Yuri Krivonischenko.

It's been so long ago that I'd hope if there were still more secret KGB files on the incident, they could be released by now.

I just heard of this story i only found it when i went to a free movie site and they had the movie of it,then i looked it up to see if it was a real event and it was,very strange case,what would make experience skiers go out with no clothes on also the radiation that was found on the bodies and clothes

a white out and anything under -10 and they'd be in trouble

Originally posted by spartacus699
a white out and anything under -10 and they'd be in trouble

If by whiteout you mean an intense snowstorm, rescue searchers found footprints which were helpful in the investigation because nobody else's footprints were found ruling out some theories like trouble with the natives, etc. A big snowstorm would have covered up the footprints I think.

I can't see the injuries these people sustained being caused from one of the skiers attacking them. This surely would have been determined after the autopsy as their dna would have been on the body of the culprit. Also the radiation for me, is the strangest part.

Robotic
The Yeti/Sasquatch have a very large bipedal foot, much like a bear paw snow shoe which would leave a very flat shallow print.
These prints would easily disappear with weather conditions.

Certainly conditions can occur which can obscure footprints.

However, if investigators are arguing about whether there were 8 or 9 sets of human footprints, there must have been some pretty clear footprints as nobody seemed to be arguing for any more or less than that, and the absence of other footprints was used to rule out attacks by others including the natives.

To say the human footprints would be visible but yeti not visible seems like special pleading. Even if the foot is wider, Yeti descriptions appear to be of a rather large and heavy creature which even with a wider foot would still leave an impression in the snow. You compared it to a bear paw, well here are bear tracks in the snow.

Nice pictures of these bear prints, would not want to be close to him out in the wilds!
The foot print of a Sasquatch is somewhat wider and larger than that of a bear, more like the example I gave of a Bear Paw "Snow Shoe"
I live in the northern part of British Columbia, Canada and use these type of snow shoes on winter outings. My 225lb body leaves a very shallow print which easily disappears by my next weekly return, especially with new snow and wind as experienced by the area these students were found.

Robotic
Nice pictures of these bear prints, would not want to be close to him out in the wilds!
The foot print of a Sasquatch is somewhat wider and larger than that of a bear, more like the example I gave of a Bear Paw "Snow Shoe"

I don't know about the snow shoe. Here is the most famous alleged Yeti footprint and it doesn't look like any snowshoe:

A Short History of the Shipton Snowman Track Photographs

Some people say it could be another creature's footprint that got distorted by melting and surely such distortions occur, but this footprint doesn't look that distorted to me and Shipton thought it was fresh. If this is a Yeti footprint, and some claim it's the best evidence of a Yeti footprint we have, the snowshoe description doesn't seem to fit. The guys who took this never saw a Yeti so they think it's some kind of unknown large creature but they don't know what.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


This picture would have to be a baby Sasquatch being compared to a human shoe size.
The average adult Sasquatch range from 19" to 26" in length
Even the foot print shown would disappear in the wind and snow environment of the Ural mountains
The reason that the students foot prints were still visible was because they trekked through 3 feet of snow with their small foot print.
Here are more Sasquatch foot prints showing their large flat foot size.
www.google.ca... ii=_

Some more information and theories;

mysteriousuniverse.org...

In the comments section, somebody mentions that the radiation level is a non starter because in the city the students went to university, radiation levels are 9x higher than normal and in other areas of the city, up to 40 x higher than normal.

As much as i am intrigued by this case, i think there was military involvement, due to the case being archived by the government so quickly, and also because Yury (who stayed behind due to illness) states that he was asked to identify belongings and he noticed a piece of clothing, glasses and a ski which belonged to none of the campers.

He also says that he saw documents that prove an investigation had begun up to a week before the actual campers were found.

Someone made a movie/mockumentary which revolves around this exact case. It has American actors but was actually filmed and premiered in Russia with actual Russian actors which adds a certain authenticity to it. Even though it doesn't follow any of the official explanations for what happened on the mountain, the film was pretty decent as far as entertainment goes. I did not expect that ending and am still confused somewhat. For anyone interested, the original title is The Dyatlov Pass Incident, better known as Devil's Pass on Netflix

Have you ever seen what tracks in the snow look like after 3 and a half weeks in midwinter?
Sometimes the tracks are completely gone, the wind and snow covered them and buried the
tracks. That is why I doubt the testimonies saying that they saw precisely 8 foot prints,
and only 8 foot prints.


I have a couple of theories:

In order for these theories to be right, requires that the witnesses who
said they saw only 8 sock-foot tracks in the snow actually are wrong.
I tend to think they are wrong, because 3 and a half weeks had gone by,
and I doubt that tracks would be percievable that much after that long
of time in the mid-winter.
also, my theories involve a reindeer herd, so there would have been
alot of tracks from the reindeer. And the reindeer tracks may have obliterated
any human tracks. Even so, 3 and a half weeks later, I dont know if a herd of reindeer
tracks would be showing all that much in midwinter.

My theories are 1 and 2 below:

1- The 9 campers were trampled and attacked by a herd of reindeer, and
reindeer only. I have found videos on youtube.com showing reindeer
attacking people, either with their antlers, or with their front legs
standing up and punching at them like boxers, and the reindeer can be
dangerous boxers. I have also read stories about reindeer attacking
a person and becoming fixated on attacking them, and the reindeer wont
leave the person alone and chases them for 1-2 miles or continues
the attack for 1 and a half to 2 hours. This would explain
how the 9 campers ended up down the mountain towards the big tree,
as they were backing up from being attacked by the reindeer.
In this theory, I also theorize that the 9 campers might have been giving off a scent
into the air that attracted the reindeer herd to come directly to the source of the
smell/scent which was the tent. The scent may have been the food that they
were in the midst of preparing and eating, or perhaps someone sprayed some
type of perfume? I read that reindeer are curious, so perhaps any scent at all
that was not normally in the area, might have caused the reindeer to come and check it out.
I have read that people were afraid to go near that mountain, therefore the
reindeer herds locally in that area may not have smelled man all that much,
certainly not around there, so it may have seemed as a new smell to them.
Also, perhaps the warmer than normal temperatures that winter had caused crustations
of ice to form on the snow in the forest, which makes it harder for the reindeer to find their
food sources under the snow, therefore the reindeer were up above the treeline that night
digging in the softer snow there. But that also means the reindeer were quite hungry,
and the smell of spices or some foods the campers started to cook, were irrestible to them,
and they moved close to the tent to try and find the food.
I read that in february, the bull male reindeer normally will have lost their antlers,
but I wonder if they might still attack people if they got too close to the females?
Well, when the campers cut open the tent, and then stood up, they were near to female reindeer, and the

males immediately attacked the campers.
The campers would have been knocked down likely, and gone downhill, and would have been struggling
for their lives immediately with the bull reindeer stomping at them and trying to box them with
their front legs. Reindeer are very strong animals.
The 9 campers were completely overcome, if in fact they were attacked by many bull males all at once
as soon as they came out of the tent or stood up in the hole of the tent.
I imagine the campers falling down and struggling to kick at the reindeer and escape the trampling,
and trying to stand up to run away, but continually being forced downhill away from the tent.
And because of the scent that attracted the deer to the tent in the first place, likely the females
stayed around the tent, digging holes trying to find that food.
It was really chaotic for the campers, and some of them were already badly injured and not able to
walk or run, and the others had to try and carry them or drag them, while at the same time struggling
with a reindeer that was trying to kill them.
You see how they would have had to get away from the area of the tent in a big hurry and it would
have been downhill. And they could not return to the tent right then, as you could see a cluster of
the reindeer all around the tent some digging holes to look for the sweet smelling food.
(the sweet smelling food might have been that birthday present food, and some of them were perhaps
warming it up before eating it, and it may have had sugar in it, and reindeer are attracted by the

smell of sugar. And the reindeer were starving and had come up to high elevations looking for food)
The 9 campers would perhaps also seemed to be a threat to the pregnant females at that time of year,
another reason why the bull males might attack aggressively.
As for the missing eyes of some of the campers, that might have occurred if the female reindeer

attacked with their sharp antlers, but perhaps also from being struck by the boxing reindeer.
But I would have expected more puncture wounds in the campers if the females with antlers attacked.
But I think it was mainly the bull males attacking(they lose their antlers usually by february),
and having lost their antlers, wouldnt try to use their antlers to attack with, but they would mainly
stomp/trample, and box. It seems to me, that most of the injuries of the campers can be explained
by being attacked by the male reindeer, and stomped/trampled or punched/boxed.
Anyways, that is some of the ideas of this theory.
The missing tongue can be explained, as the woman got stomped/trampled inside the tent,
which broke her neck or upper back, which placed pressures on the tongue muscles and the tongue
was then forced to stick out of her mouth, and then another reindeer kicked her jaw or face or
head, and she bit down on her tongue which cut off the tongue. Please remember this is just one
theory, and I dont mean to offend anyone. If this happened inside the tent, there should have
been alot of blood in the tent from this alone.

2- The 9 campers were trampled by reindeer, and perhaps also attacked
by some reindeer, but also there may have been a reindeer herder or herders
also involved in the attack, actually guiding the reindeer herd to trample
over their tent.. This theory is sick, and involves other humans attacking
the campers for unknown reasons, and using the reindeer as weapons,
followed by using the cold weather and deprivating of clothing and shoes
as weapons as well. And the reindeer herders likely attack with
clubs or other weapons, and perhaps ropes and such, and basically herded
the 9 campers down towards the big tree.... after having the
reindeer trample their tent. Another possibility I considered is that
the reindeer herder(s) put one of their sleds on top of the front
entrance of the tent, intending to trap all the occupants of the tent,
while trampling them to death by running the reindeer right over them.
This would explain why the 9 campers could not get out the front entrance
of the tent. Also, being trampled, the tent would have collapsed, and
any movements of the people inside would have then shown to anyone
outside of the tent. The people inside the tent were instantly desperate
to get out of the tent, while being trampled by many reindeer continually.
They couldnt get out the front, so they

continued..... from above (part 2 I guess)

They couldnt get out the front, so they cut the tent to get out, but
found themselves in the midst of a reindeer run with possibly 1000
or thousands of reindeer.
There are different possible reasons for why the 9 campers then quickly
move away from the tent, without any clothes or shoes, because the
tent is being trampled and they just want to get away from being trampled
immediately. some or all of them are already badly injured from being
trampled.
It is very unlikely that all 9 would be able to walk or run away from the
area of the tent, so some had to be pulled out by the ones that were able
to walk or run.
But the number one thing at the time is just to get out of the way of
the stampeding reindeer.

Also, one of the bodies in the ravine, looked like it had been run over by a car tire
over his chest, but I think that a reindeer sled loaded up can have alot of weight on it,
so maybe a sled ran over him?

This theory that involves human reindeer herders, may be with intent or without intent.
I mean, the reindeer herders might have accidentally run over the 9 campers by mistake, or I mean
they herded the reindeer in that general direction, but failed to see the tent.
In this scenario, the reindeer herders made a big mistake and harmed the 9 campers.
The other scenario is the one with intent, which is very scary to think that people might actually
do that to other people on purpose. But it seems that some of the injuries to the 9 campers
are too extreme for it to have been without intent(if humans were involved, i mean)


But as I said in theory 1 above, it may have been a wild herd of reindeer, with no humans involved in

the attack at all.


People may have heard to be careful about bears, wolves, wolverines, wildcats etc.. in the wilderness,

but who has been warned about the dangerous reindeer? Its somehow not expected that a group of 9 people

would get attacked and killed by a herd of reindeer. Maybe 1 reindeer might attack one person, but for

many reindeer to attack 9 people? I dont know. Anyways, that is my theories.