Mystery of the Dyatlov group death

Tragic finds and questions without answers

Having got the message about the found tent, Ortyukov and Maslennikov began to draw up rescue forces to Mount Holatchakhl (1096) for localization of the search zone. The Karelin and Tchernyshov groups were transferred here from Ivdel and upper reaches of the Vishera already on February 27th together with Moiseyev and Mostovoy with guard dogs. After receiving a message with a pendant from the plane, on February 27th the Tchernyshov group made all ready for the journey in the morning and set out for Mount Holatchakhl (it was 25 km away from this place). The flown-up helicopter picked them up and delivered to the outlier on the pass at Mount Holatchakhl. The Grebennik group was given a signal with a pendant from the plane while approaching Mount Oyko-Chakur, and they started descending along the Toshemka in the direction of Vizhay. The next day the helicopter took them off. The Grebennik group also had a “double” tent which looked like the Dyatlov group’s tent.

On all grounds, it was the tent, which the aviators (Karpushin, Patrushev) saw, who spoke of it much later as of the Dyatlov group’s tent, near which “the dead” were lying. However, it was the Grebennik group’s tent, and it was the tourists of the Grebennik group, who were lying in a conventional sign near it, not “the dead”. And it was on February 27th, when the aviators saw the tent, not on 25th, – already after discovering the Dyatlov group’s tent by the Slobtsov group.

The Dyatlov group’s tent after its partial excavation (Yury Koptelov is near the tent, Vladislav Karelin is behind him). A photo by Tcheglakov A.S., February, 27

The Axelrod group was ordered with a pendant from the helicopter to prepare for the departure. Having learned of finding Dyatlov’s tent, experienced Axelrod and Sogrin understood that the Dyatlov group was gone. They couldn't go far away from the accident site without skis, and couldn't survive without clothes, provisions and equipment. Accident! All three companions bared the heads and kept silent, remembering the lost friends. The Axelrod group arrived in Ivdel by helicopter on February 28th, and on March 1st they arrived at Holatchakhl.

After February 28th, 1959 the search was officially headed by the regional executive committee led by Pavlov. But the role of Ortyukov and Maslennikov’s operative guide wasn’t changed, – they continued to work, giving a report to the committee and getting help from it in regard to collecting, providing and changing of search groups at the place of accident. It wasn’t the «former» staff (headquarters) in Ivdel any more as all its main organizers constantly moved between the place of accident, Ivdel and Sverdlovsk.

On February 27th in the morning Mikhail Sharavin and Yury Koptelov got over the pass and went down to the woods. The natural slope led to a large cedar, where at the distance of 1,5 km from the tent the searchers found the first victims near the remains of a small fire. Two of them were lying together under a blanket, almost undressed, – only in underwear. The cedar branches were found around and under the bodies, – the tourists got firewood, climbing up the cedar (at the height of about 3 m) and breaking off medium-sized branches at the height of up to 5 m. Thick lower branches were bent down for capturing by the companions from below and broken by joint efforts. From this desperate work there were traces of blood of the frozen hands on the bark. The dead had traces of burns on their hands and feet. After identification it turned out to be «two Yurys», – Doroshenko and Krivonishchenko (At first Doroshenko was taken for Zolotaryov by mistake). The forensic medical examination established that they had died of freezing. Nearby there were found cuts with a knife with demolitions of young firs and cuts on birches. The cut-off tops of firs and the knife weren’t found.

Krivonishenko and Doroshenko snowed under the cedar

(photo made by Evgeniy Serditykh, Karelin-s group)

Doroshenko and Krivonishchenko covered with snow under the ceder

Igor Dyatlov’s forearm and elbow peeking out of snow

Igor Dyatlov died near a birch

Dead Zina

Dead Rustem Slobodin (a dense structure of snowballs can be seen on the photo)

The helicopter near Mount Holatchakhl

The searchers returned to the pass and found the helicopter which had set down the part of the Karelin group and the guides Moiseyev and Mostovoy with search dogs. The air over the Dyatlov pass shivered with the roar of engins: helicopters arrived and departed one by one. The Tchernyshov group and the rest of the Karelin group «karelintsy» arrived a little bit later. Maslennikov and the investigation team: the prosecutor of Ivdel Tempalov with the staff reporter of the regional newspaper Yuri Yarov arrived by the evening, – they began their work next day on February 28th.

On February 27th the hunter-Mancie visually discovered the dead Igor Dyatlov whose arm wasn’t completely covered with snow. Dyatlov reclined on his back, clasping the trunk of a small birch on the line connecting the tent and the cedar, 300 m away from the cedar (and 1200 m away from the tent). On the same day Moiseyev with a sheep-dog Alma found Zina Kolmogorova, – the dog scented Zina under 10 cm-layer of thick snow. Kolmogorova lay on the right side with her face downward, also on the line connecting the tent and the cedar, 850 m away from the tent on the open area of the slope. Her face was in blood, and there were blood spots from the nosebleed on the snow.

Karelin and the soldier from the Potapov group found Rustem Slobodin on March 5th with iron probes under a 15–20 cm snow layer. Slobodin also lay on the line connecting the cedar and the tent, between Kolmogorova and Dyatlov, approximately 1 km away from the tent. The ice outgrowths at the face (the same as Dyatlov had) showed that before death he had breathed in snow for a long time, and melted it with his breath. Slobodin, as well as Kolmogorova, had symptoms of nosebleed. All the five victims had small injuries in the form of grazes and scratches on the faces, – these injuries were caused by falling on the slope while descending in the dark (though tourists get such injuries in a campaign very rarely).

Kolmogorova, Dyatlov and Slobodin were found dressed in sweaters and ski suits, – without jackets and quilted jackets. Slobodin had a valenok on one foot. Other footwear on the feet of the victims weren't found, – there were only socks. The location of the bodies and their poses showed that they had been dying on the way back from the cedar to the tent.

Young tourists-students were shocked by the death of their friends. Some of them avoided coming to the dead. The tragedy caused a psychic trauma, which all the tourists couldn’t overcome immediately, and they couldn’t get over the depressed mood at once too. Ortyukov and Maslennikov saw to it that the students of the Slobtsov group, who were the most tired morally and physically, should be replaced in the first place, – they were replaced from 2d of March to 4th.

The dead were lifted onto the pass, to the outlier, near which the helicopter usually landed. On that day there were such strong gusts that Slobtsov was knocked down while carrying the dead, and the ski pole hanging on a loop, was being held in the horizontal position by the wind. Later the helicopter delivered the dead to Ivdel where in the mortuary the Unit «post box N-240» (п/я Н-240) carried their examination and sanitary processing.

Note. The Unit p/b N-240 was management of correctional institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs which included 8 offices. Some colonies (work camps of Ivdellag or “Ivdel-camp”) submitted to each office. The team of Tchernyshov’s searchers was mainly formed from soldiers and officers of Military Unit M/U-6602 (в/ч 6602), this connection of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs didn't submit to the Unit N-240 (but it was engaged in work camp guarding). According to V.K.Solter.

After it, the post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death was carried out. All the five tourists had died of freezing, – the ice outgrowths and the frozen snow at their faces obviously showed that the victims had breathed in snow for a long time. However, the commission of experts also found out that Slobodin:

«…had the bone crack with the dehiscence of edges to 0,1 cm (the length of this crack is 6 cm) from the leading edge of scales of the left temporal bone in the direction of the front and up the frontal bone. The crack is in 1,5 cm from the sagittal suture. Besides, there is opening of joints in the area of temporoparietal suture on the left, and also on the right (posthumous) …»

These cracks, invisible from the outside, found only during the internal investigation, were also considered the result of freezing, and weren't attached value.

On March 2, 1959 on Maslennikov’s instructions the Slobtsov group and the hunters Muncie carried out the search of the Dyatlov group’s warehouse, about which it became known from the diary of the group, found in the tent. The warehouse (a storehouse of products for lessening the group backpacks on a radial exit) was quickly found near the searchers’ camp in the woods. The Dyatlov group dug a hole in the snow, put there 55 kg of products in cardboard boxes and some things (a mandoline, the first-aid kit, Dyatlov's cloth boots and spare ski boots). Above it, they put firewood and covered everything with snow. They placed spare pair of skis nearby and put color gaiters «tags» on them – so that they were easier for noticing.

Warehouse («сумьях» – «sumjyakhе» – mansiysky) of hunters Mancie in the taiga.

Photo from the cameras found in the Dyatlov group’s tent

Extraction of the Dyatlov group’s warehouse contents by the search group

The mass ceremony of farewell in the UPI and the funeral at the Mikhaylovsky cemetery took place on March 9. Krivonishchenko was buried at the Ivanovo cemetery.

Funeral on March 9. Farewell

Despite the localization of the search zone, the search of the other four missing tourists was greatly delayed. A big army tent supplied with an oven was put up for the rescuers in the valley of the Auspiya, and then the second tent. At night, in order to avoid surprises, an armed sentry was exposed near the tents in the first days. All people didn't understand how the Dyatlov group had died. The possibility of criminal attacks or those of wild animals wasn't excluded. Therefore the military personnel – the search participants had the charged service guns. Later, in the middle of April, platforms were constructed in the source of the Lozva and the searchers’ camp was moved there, closer to the cedar.

Maslennikov organized urgent search of the other four victims, but in no way could they discover the group. Within several days a wide strip of the slope from the cedar to the tent in the places covered with snow, was probed by a group of rescuers with snow, but it was all in vain. The snow depth wasn’t great on stone ridges lower than the tent, but on other areas it was necessary to apply longer 2 m snow sondes to break through all the snow depth. As it turned out later, such sonde length was insufficient. The pass between the Peak 1096 (Mount Holatchakhl, – on old maps it is 1079) and the Peak 905 (on old maps it is 880) and the mountain range in the direction of the Lozva were investigated, as well as the spur of the Peak 1096, the 4th source of the Lozva and its continuation from the river outlet at 4–5 km, the zone “plague” to the north from the place of accident. No traces of people or large animals were found. There were no direct signs of technical or natural disasters. Certainly, not only skilled tourists, everybody already understood that all the Dyatlov group was lost.

Mansiysky «plague» (see the search scheme from Maslennikov's diary)

From February 3 to February 8 the group of Moscow tourist experts composed of K.V.Bardin, S. Baskin and E.E Shuleshko and the chairman of the regional MC V.I.Korolev, who checked the facts and circumstances of the accident, worked at the place of accident trying to understand its causes. The commission tried to find out, why and how the tragedy had happened, made the description of the events and drew some preliminary conclusions concerning the causes of the accident. The commission noted that weather conditions near the pass are usually severe because of frequent strong winds, blizzards, cold and an icing on rigid crust of snow. The experts drew the general preliminary conclusion that (criminal case p. 35): «… the fear of immediate death could be the only reason which had made the tourists leave the tent. The group started going down the slope in an organized way, but then under the conditions of darkness and a blizzard they were scattered on stone ridges, and the group lost touch with each other and died in a snow-storm …».

Karelin believed that the placement location of the Dyatlov group’s tent was chosen improperly, and it was, probably, one of the causes of the accident. The tent stood on the open slope of the mountain blown through by the wind, and due to its strong rushes the tent could be torn. The wind and lack of fuel for a fire and an oven doomed the group to a very «cold» overnight stay. However, Axelrod and the other tourists of the UPI claimed that in similar conditions they spent the night in a campaign across the Subpolar Ural together with Dyatlov 4 times a year before it. Dyatlov's companions on campaigns protected him from the charges which were put forward unreasonably before finding out the causes of the accident. Nobody made up final conclusions yet.

On February 28 the investigation team (Tempalov, Maslennikov, Summer and other searchers) examined, disassembled the tent and made the inventory of the things. The Dyatlov group put up the tent thoroughly (according to Slobtsov). On the leveled platform they laid 8 pairs of skis with their fastenings down on which the tent was put up. On the bottom of the tent the group laid quilted jackets («under oneself») and empty backpacks which they put at the feet (possibly, they used the known way of warming their feet when they stacked them into the backpack before going to bed). On a layer made of padded jackets and backpacks they spread out 2 or 3 cloth blankets for full length of the tent. The Dyatlov group was covered with other blankets and windbreakers, – these upper blankets lay on top in the crumpled condition. They froze together, as they appeared powdered with snow. One of two fur jackets was pressed in the tent into the slope snow at the entrance, – in this place the tent burst from the side of the slope:«…it was found out at the excavation that the tent batter, turned to the slope, was torn closer to the entrance and a fur jacket was seen in the hole …» (criminal case p. 34 – description of events)

Participants of the search at the army tent

From left to right: Karelin, Tipikin, Nevolin, Axelrod, Atmanaki

The Dyatlov group had no sleeping bags, therefore for the better warming they formed a kind of «collective sleeping bag», laying down closely and covering themselves with blankets (in 2 layers) and jackets. The group was lying in the tent with their heads from the side of the slope (according to Axelrod), and the arrangement of things in the tent also indicated such a way of laying. But two pairs of boots were settled down from the other side (from the side of the slope), – on this basis two of them were lying at the entrance with the heads to the slope. The arrangement is cramped enough: 4,5 m tent length for 9 people. It was hardly sufficient to lie down side by side. Such narrowness could make two of them lie with the head towards the other side (as shoulders are usually wider than feet laid together). «Double» tents, similar to Dyatlov’s one, then were used in campaigns (see, for example, the image from the book «Tourist equipment», M, «Profizdat», 1968, p. 78). They put on ski suits and sweaters before going to bed.

The Dyatlov group put down large things such as buckets, axes and a saw at the entrance into the tent, turned to the pass. The oven filled with firewood, products, small things of equipment, spare clothes and footwear were found in the tent, – generally at the entrance and along its edges. The tent rack at the entrance and its stay-rods remained intact, and the stay-rods from the back side wall were found broken, the back rack was brought down. Lebedev wrote down in his report, in what condition the back rack of the tent had been found: «…In the tent we found a ski stick from which the top end on an accurate ring cut was cut off and one more cut was made …».

It was noted in Vadim Brusnitsyn’s report: “…A ski stick, cut into several pieces, was on top of all the things, and probably a northern ridge of the tent was fixed on it. Only special circumstances could make the group damage the tent, taking into consideration the fact that they had no spare ones…”

Sure, the circumstances were “exceptional”. At that time people didn’t pay attention to such important evidence as this ski stick, a jacket pressed into the gap, a ski-post being in the wrong place, a lantern on the tent snow. The searchers didn’t know all these facts as the information was desultory. Therefore even the most experienced tourists couldn’t give an accurate account of the tragedy.

Maslennikov, Tempalov and the group of searchers (below) at the place of the Dyatlov group’s tent excavation. The things and skis were taken out, the cloth of the torn tent was moved aside from the platform. The hollow of the Lozva head water, where the Dyatlov group departed and tragically died, is visible below. The distinctive plane of a thick crust in the form of «snowy barkhans» is visible on the slope.

Snow sounding at the wood edge. Mount Holatchakhl, its northern spur, dense snow under feet are seen in the photo, and a vague oval spot on the slope slightly higher than the group of rescuers on the right is a place of the tent excavation.

Snow sounding by the group of rescuers in the light forest zone

The search scheme from Maslennikov's diary (it is handed over by Karelin V. G.)

Note. According to Maslennikov's scheme there were 550 m from the tent to the wood border (the wood border on the scheme: three fir-trees, K – Kolmogorova, C – Slobodin, Д – Dyatlov; below: the ceder, the “plague” is on the right; the place, where the 2d lantern was found, is marked with a cross on the 3d ridge).

Eight pairs of ski boots lay along the tent sides (6 – from the internal side, 2 – from the external side). Seven valenoks lay from the sides closer to the tent center. There were crackers, brisket skin in the tent, and the brisket, partially cut into pieces, was found together with Kolevatov's Finnish knife at the tent side.

Outside the tent 2 lanterns were found, – one of them lay on top of the tent, and there was a snow layer under it. When Slobtsov, who had picked up the lantern, turned it on, it lit. The second lantern was found later on the stone ridge below the tent, – its position is indicated by Maslennikov on the scheme of the slope sounding. The position of the tent, cedar, victims (D – Dyatlov, C-Slobodin, K – Kolmogorova) are also seen there, as well as the borders of the stone ridges and the wood (three fir-trees and a curve dotted line is the border of the long-boled wood), the position of the mansiysky plague and distances between the main reference points are noted:

A bag with documents (including three running schedules of the group) and their marching diary were found at the tent side closer to the back wall. The notes were broken by «A newspaper sheet «The Evening Otorten» on February 1st, – on these grounds the rescuers understood unequivocally that the tragedy had happened at night on February 2. It was evident from the diary that before a radial exit to Mount Otorten the Dyatlov group had equipped a warehouse (a storage protected from animals and birds) in the Auspiya valley in order to lighten their backpacks for a radial exit (it was noted above about the warehouse detection).

One pair of skis was found outside the tent, – they didn't remember clearly, where it was (Sharavin said that the skis were stuck into snow at the tent entrance). In the picture of the tent excavation these two skis are visible, – they are stuck into snow near the tent. These skis were used as high racks for supporting the medial part of this tent at installation outside the wood zone, – as it is shown in the picture from the campaign of 1958 with I.Dyatlov's participation.