Has the mystery of Dyatlov Pass finally been solved? Horrific deaths of nine students during Siberian ski trip in 1959 once blamed on 'aliens and yetis' were caused by an AVALANCHE, new computer analysis claims
An avalanche caused the horrific deaths of nine students during a Siberian ski trip in 1959 - not aliens and yetis as some once believed, a new study claims. The discovery of the experienced hikers' half-naked and mutilated bodies over 60 years ago in the Ural Mountains fuelled bizarre conspiracy theories, from the paranormal to secret weapons testing.
Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) created computer models to prove their theory that an unusual type of delayed avalanche was behind the deaths at the heart of the 'mystery of Dyatlov Pass'. The team say the avalanche may have been caused by a cut in the snow made by the group as they set up camp. They had flattened a small section of the surface to form a 'shoulder' or ridge in the slope - believing it would shield them from the worst of the fierce winds.
A combination of other factors - including the unusual terrain and strong, icy winds - later triggered the 'slab avalanche' that apparently chased the team out of their tent and left them to freeze to death in -13F (-25C) temperatures.
A slab avalanche occurs when a weak layer lies lower down in a snowpack. When it breaks off, the compressed snow on top is also pulled along the slope.
Professor Alexander Puzrin, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Zurich, and corresponding author of the study, said the cut, combined with unusual terrain and a rare weather event called katabatic winds was enough to trigger the avalanche. Katabatic winds carry air down a slope under the force of gravity, transporting snow in the process.
Professor Puzrin said: 'The katabatic wind probably drifted the snow and allowed an extra load to build up slowly. At a certain point, a crack could have formed and propagated, causing the snow slab to release.'
Co-author Dr Johan Gaume, head of EPFL's Snow and Avalanche Simulation Laboratory, said: 'We use data on snow friction and local topography to prove a small slab avalanche could occur on a gentle slope, leaving few traces behind.'
The researchers hope the findings, published in British journal Communications Earth & Environment, could help avert avalanche disasters in the future.
(More on the link)
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Yep, i've seen this all over the internet for the last few days Nivek, [it's that time of year] thanks for posting it here mate
.. there's also this video doing the rounds ...
... and in my humble opinion, though I would never definitively rule 'any' explanation out, personally I don't see anything in that scientific paper or the video that changes my mind about the many-times mooted avalanche theory .... which of course tends to be most peoples initial suspicion when first hearing about the incident. .. Well it certainly was mine, until I considered all of the opposing evidence. The scientific paper is very technical and the video is very basic but neither can explain for certain that an Avalanche occurred at the Tent site. They conveniently overlook the fact that the Tent was not damaged or moved. [surely a 'slab-avalanche' would have ripped through the tent, and also ragged out the tent pegs and shoved the whole kaboodle down the mountainside? Also the Footprints that have been extensively been studied and quoted to show that the group left the tent and steadily marched down to the forest in a "calm and orderly manner" does not suggest an Avalanche-panic-escape... And then of course we move on to the other Events down at the Forest a mile away. People with serious head and body injuries like some of the Dyatlov Group suffered do not walk a mile... specially half naked and barefooted.
... also not taken into consideration [but i'm not forgetting ] The Statement from Maslennikov's diary that he read out for the City Investigator of the Prosecutor's Office about the tent before the search team started digging:
"The snow was not much, only drifted by the blizzards in the period of February." .. This statement for me is better than every attempt at solving a 62 year old mystery with guesswork... no matter how much you use the term "scientifically explained".
...Also, this very theory is not as new as the proposer would have you believe... it's been suggested numerous times over the many decades [without as much herald] but always come up short of matching 'all of the evidence'... just a couple of years ago, the Russian authorities were pressured into clearing their names [or rather the military's possible involvement] .. and shilly-shallied a while and then set about their usual 'special investigation mode' and eventually came up with the "Don't really know, but Avalanche seamed the best bet" response... which garnered much criticism from the UFO camp, the Mad-Yeti camp, the Military accident camp etc.. and also had opposition from 'mountain avalanche experts' such as Dominov ...
Dominov ... Look, I learned skiing in the Swiss Mountains at the age of six. Although the Dead Mountain has very few steeper parts we would call it a hill for idiots (beginners). The slope of the Dead Mountain is not a killer, nor is it a place where avalanches typically occur, although I found traces of snow slides on the eastern slope. But well... that depends. Weather, season, sun, quality of snow, inclination, wind, temperature, orientation toward the sun are some of the factors. Snow slides are possible there, but unlikely, especially on the north-eastern side. But... The sound of an explosion can cause snow slabs/planks/slides. That's how we trigger them here artificially in order to minimize the risk for our appreciated tourists. In the morning in the Alps you often hear explosion bangs. Sounds scary.
Would we hear a snow slide in the extreme winter conditions of 1959? I doubt it. No, we wouldn't.
... who goes on to elaborate
First we need to locate the approximate area where the group pitched their tent. As a reference I use a picture taken by the first search team.
Ok, that's not bad. It seems that the real location was a little further down and further north. So far so good.
Now let's look for danger zones behind the tent where avalanches could start. These are slopes with inclinations higher than 25%. And yes there is a candidate!
The area in dark magenta is a slope with an average inclination of 26%. There are small areas with inclinations up to 40%. Conclusion: There is a risk that an avalanche could occur there. But does it overlap with the location of the tent? Let's see.
Yes. The potential location of the tent slightly overlaps with our avalanche zone. So did we prove that the tent was hit by an avalanche? No. We also see that the north-eastern corner of the Dead Mountain is a windy area (cyan). The patterns in the snow tell us that winds flow over this slope most of the time. This means that snow is carried away most of the time. But avalanches only occur if the amount of snow becomes critical. It's unlikely that a critical mass of snow can be accumulated in this «danger zone». We shouldn't forget neither that it was cold winter when the incident occurred. It was cold, windy and it was snowing. Cold snow and wind also lower the likelihood of avalanches. Ok, so we are down to, let's say, a likelihood of 20%. Considering the fact that the tent area most likely didn't overlap with the avalanche danger zone we are down to a likelihood of 10%.
Also considering that the first search team didn't report any signs of an avalanche we are down to 2%. And after having a look at the tent whose entrance was still standing we go down to 1%. The first thing to fall would be the entrance of the tent (on the side of the avalanche zone). Ok, 1%. And yes... is the group's behaviour consistent with an avalanche incident? No. Likelihood down to 0.1% which is still more likely than an alien threat but as likely as the MENK!!!!
Conclusion: Avalanche - Never. The new investigation is a waste of time.
regards
Dominov
... Not only this, but if this new version of the Avalanche "Theory" is to be believed at all, then why haven't we heard any explanation of just why none of the original [on-site] experienced searchers and investigators thought that there had been any kind of 'Avalanche' at the site of the incident? ... is it because they didn't use the term 'scientifically proven'? ... or could it be that they weren't in the business of promoting their new upcoming 'documentary/film/radio-appearance's' etc..?
... I could go on, but I think you get my drift on this thing my old mate.
... it's not that I absolutely rule out the avalanche explanation, but there are many tripping points that make me hold this 'explanation' pretty low down the list, ... the truth is that just like everyone else [possibly] I do not know what happened? ... but am not willing to accept anyone's presumptions when they do not fill in all of the blanks and skim over any 'known facts' that do not fit!
There has to my knowledge been at least three 'consummately-presented definitive explanations' for this timeless-mystery, all pointing in different directions over the last twelve months of so ... and as far as i'm concerned all of them are critically flawed, ... and as far as i'm concerned, unless it does after-all have a military explanation to this, and the proof is still on-file , but still with-held deep in the dark annals of the Kremlin vaults ... then we'll never really know what happened to that group of poor students in 1959. .... but speculating about it will always be of interest to nosey-folk like me.
Cheers Buddy
..Might that be a blog post by Clark Wilkins? or someone else that was copy/pasting or simply paraphrasing from his book "A Compelling Unknown Force - The Dyatlov Pass Incident aka Six Hours to Live" in which he promotes the theory that the hikers left the tent due to smoke from the stove.? The problem with this theory is that they wouldn't need to go a mile down the hill to escape smoke in the tent.... Even if they thought it could be a fire in the tent they wouldn’t need to go so far from it. [almost naked and in different directions in the undoubted arctic temperature?] They could easily put it down with plenty of snow around, and easily remedied by opening the tent up and ventilating. They certainly wouldn't completely abandon the tent without their shoes and coats. Another weakness of that theory is the consistency of reports by witnesses and investigators, that the stove was unassembled and still in its case. ... but then, as often is the case in the publishing world.... never let simple things like the fact that 'the stove' was an obvious candidate from the early days of this exhausting-puzzle ... from the very first investigation carried out by the seriously qualified official-on-the-spot-sleuths this theory was comprehensively ruled out by the facts and a healthy dose of circumstantial common sense, which is a process that has been repeated periodically over these past 60+ years ... but as I say, don't let 'the facts and common sense' get in the way of those $-book-sales-$.
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