The Theories
"If I had a chance to ask God just one question, it would be, 'What really happened to my friends that night?'"
-Yuri Yudin
The Dyatlov Pass Incident is one of the most puzzling mysteries in the world due to the bizarre circumstances and case details. What's even stranger is the fact that nobody has figured out exactly what happened. Theorists still debate today, and dozens of theories have been proposed in an attempt to explain the mystifying deaths of the nine Russian hikers. We have compiled some of the more popular and relevant ones here, and have split them into three general categories: Natural causes, Human causes, and Supernatural causes.
NATURAL CAUSES:
1. Avalanche
An avalanche is one of the more reasonable guesses as to what happened because it explains why the hikers would need to flee their tent in the middle of the night, as well as why some of them had traumatic injuries caused by blunt force. They set up their tent on a sloped mountainside and may have disrupted the snowpack in the process, setting off an avalanche. Some of the dead hikers were discovered under feet of snow, but it was hard to determine if an avalanche actually occurred because the site was not discovered until weeks after the deadly event in the night.
2. Infrasound and Tornadoes
What could have led the the
hikers to their death was a weather phenomenon known as a Karman Vortex Street.
When high winds hit the domed summit of the mountain, small tornadoes spin off
of the sides, causing deafening roars as well as a disorienting feeling caused
by infrasound. Infrasound is very low frequency, inaudible sound waves that
excite the hair cells in the inner ear, sending messages to the brain even
though no sound is perceived. This induces panic, breathing trouble, and fear.
This terrifying sensation paired with the thunderous howl of the tornadoes could
certainly have led them to flee their tent and die out in the elements.
HUMAN CAUSES
1. Soviet Military Cover-up
This event occurred in the height of the Cold War, so speculations were quickly proposed of a cover-up by the Soviet government. Theorists suggest that the Soviets were undergoing secret weapons testing in the area, and the hikers regrettably were blown up. An explosion could explain the substantial injuries as well as the radiation found on their skin. The case was even classified as “top secret” for thirty years. Even though some scrap metal was found in the area, no crucial evidence was found to fully support this claim.
2. Angry Natives
The Mansi are a tribe native to the Ural Mountains, and some suspect that they murdered all nine hikers for intruding on sacred ground. The Mansi do regard much of the territory as sacred, and the mountain where the hikers perished is called “Mountain of the Dead” in the Mansi language. However, the Mansi have no history of violence, and the police found no additional footprints other than those of the nine hikers. Additional theories include a conflict with escaped inmates from a gulag in Siberia, or a gang of bandits. None of these theories hold too much merit, though.
SUPERNATURAL CAUSES
1. The Yeti
The elusive Russian Bigfoot—claimed to have been seen by many, but only ever captured on the blurriest of cameras. No human is capable of
delivering the kind of damage the hikers sustained, but the powerful ape-like being is said to be
far stronger than any man and easily could have crushed the poor hikers. There have been many sightings of the creature in that region, and for some, this is the only explanation for what could have possibly killed the entire group of hikers.
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Discovery Channel Documentary Website: Click here
2. Aliens
This is one of many conspiracy theories. Because no satisfactory explanation exists for the extent of the traumatic injuries or the abnormal amounts of radiation discovered on the bodies, this card is played by some who see no other cause to fully explain the Dyatlov Pass Mystery. Some witnesses even claim seeing glowing spheres in the sky the night the hikers perished, but that can be explained by either Russian aircraft flying overhead or simply false testimonies.