MYSTERY: The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Summary

Murder: True Crime Stories

Episode: MYSTERY - The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Host: Carter Roy
Date: January 16, 2026
Podcast: Crime House Original, powered by PAVE Studios

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Episode Overview

This episode of Murder: True Crime Stories launches "Mystery Fridays" by delving into the infamous Dyatlov Pass Incident: the unsolved 1959 tragedy where nine experienced Soviet hikers perished under mysterious and chilling circumstances in the Ural Mountains. Host Carter Roy guides listeners beyond the grisly crime scene and through a maze of tangled theories, scientific investigations, and personal stories—ultimately exploring why the Dyatlov Pass still haunts the world’s imagination.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dyatlov Expedition: The People and Their Journey

(05:35 – 13:02)

• Background of the Expedition:
  • Led by 23-year-old Igor Dyatlov, a skilled mountaineer and engineering student.
  • The original nine-member group, all young, intelligent, experienced hikers from Ural Polytechnic Institute.
  • Members included students and graduates in fields such as nuclear physics, engineering, and radio technology, plus a last-minute older hiker, Sasha Zolotagriov, a WWII veteran.
• The Outset:
  • Final stop before hiking at Sector 41 logging camp where Yuri Yudin, suffering from health issues, turns back—becoming the sole survivor.
  • Group dynamics: camaraderie, coping with harsh conditions, maintaining detailed diaries and photography.
• Last Sightings & Diary Entries:
  • Trail followed through severe Siberian weather.
  • The hikers pitch camp on a barren slope below “Dead Mountain,” aware of the increasing danger but confident in their skill.

"He watched as they skied away into the white expanse, nine figures shrinking into the snow. He was the last person who would ever see them alive." – Narrator (13:02)

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2. The Search and Discovery

(18:00 – 31:02)

• Triggering the Search:
  • Hikers go missing; Dyatlov's sister Rufina pressures university officials to take action.
  • Search parties (including locals and the Mansi people) discover the tent—intact but torn open from the inside, personal belongings left behind.
• First Discoveries:
  • Barefoot tracks leading away into the snow.
  • First bodies found: Georgiy Krivonischenko, Yuri Doroshenko (shoeless, scant clothing, one with facial trauma).
  • Further discoveries: Igor Dyatlov (clutching a tree), Zina Kolmogorova (face down, bloody), Rustem Slobodin (with a skull wound).
• The Remaining Four:
  • Found months later, partially buried, at a distance from the others—suffered fatal trauma: shattered ribs, crushed skulls, one (Luda Dubinina) missing her tongue.

"The medical examiner determined that some sort of large, violent force had caused the damage while the victims were alive... but the source... well, that was still a mystery." – Carter Roy (29:21)

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3. Theories and Investigation Roadblocks

(31:02 – 46:38)

Early Theories

• Official Conclusion:
  • Soviet authorities declared an “insurmountable force of nature” (30:33)—vague and unsatisfying.
• Rumors & Speculation:
  • Mansi attack (quickly dismissed—the Mansi aided the search).
  • UFO sightings: Reports of mysterious glowing orbs in the sky the night of the tragedy (33:19–34:38).
• Photographic “Evidence”:
  • The infamous blurry "orb" photo turns out to be a lens flare.

Radiation & Weapons Testing

• Radiation on Clothing:
  • Elevated levels noted but later—decades later—debunked by western experts as harmless environmental fallout (38:37).
  • The abrupt halt of the original 1959 inquiry suggests possible government censorship.

Avalanche & Animal Attack

• Avalanche Theory:
  • Disputed by modern Russian and western experts—terrain not suitable, tent undisturbed (42:06).
• Animal Attack:
  • No evidence; tent cut from inside; injuries inconsistent with animal mauling.

Human Intervention & Staging

• Survivor Yuri Yudin’s Belief:
  • In rare interview (43:50), floats idea of secret military involvement or forced march—disproved through evidence and interviews.

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4. Scientific Analysis & New Explanations

(46:43 – 53:17)

Infrasound Hypothesis

• Donnie Eichar's Investigation (2010s):
  • Focuses on “infrasound,” low-frequency vibrations produced under particular wind and topographical conditions.
  • Expert insight: Dr. Alfred J. Bedard, Jr. provides scientific support, describing “Karman vortex streets”—weather patterns that could induce panic and physical symptoms via infrasound.
• Plausibility:
  • The mountain’s topography could have created extremely disorienting and terrifying conditions inside the tent—explaining the panic, irrational flight, and self-destructive actions.

"Dr. Bedard believed that this could explain everything. The panic, the confusion, the frantic decision to cut their way out into the cold. The hikers weren't running from an avalanche or an intruder. They were fleeing from sound itself." – Carter Roy (51:14)

Recent Official Resumption

• 2019 Russian Authorities:
  • Reopened case, ruling in favor of a rare "slab avalanche"—again, widely disputed by current experts (52:35).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Unexplainable Nature of the Case:

  "Every theory feels like a possibility." — Carter Roy (03:16)

• Chilling Details:

  "The tent had been slashed open from the inside. Nine sets of mostly bare footprints trailed into the darkness." — Carter Roy (29:47)

• On Loss & Remembrance:

  "While we can never bring them back, we can know their journey ended the same way it began. Together." — Carter Roy (53:59)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |------------|---------------------------------------------------| | 05:35–13:02| Group formation and journey into mountains | | 18:00–21:14| Search mobilization and discovery of the tent | | 22:07–24:08| Finding the first bodies | | 25:28–29:38| Autopsies, disturbing physical evidence | | 31:02–35:49| Alternative theories (orbs, government cover-up) | | 38:05–39:48| Radiation theory debunked, modern investigation | | 41:26–42:53| Avalanche/animal attack theories refuted | | 43:50–44:51| Yuri Yudin’s theory and interview | | 47:03–51:38| Infrasound theory explored | | 52:35–53:17| 2019: Russian government reopens, controversy | | 53:37–53:59| Remembering the victims |

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Tone & Language

Carter Roy’s narration is empathetic, methodical, and contemplative. He draws the listener into the historical era, the personalities of the victims, the emotional turmoil of their families, and the evolving nature of the investigation. “Haunted,” “chilling,” “tragic,” and “legend” are recurring moods—balanced by measured skepticism as new evidence and theories are weighed.

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Conclusion

Despite decades of speculation, state secrecy, and renewed investigations, the Dyatlov Pass Incident remains one of the most enigmatic tragedies in true crime history. The episode leaves listeners appreciating not just the enduring mystery, but the remarkable individuals lost and the relentless human search for answers.

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Next Episode Teaser:
Carter Roy promises another story that goes beyond the crime scene to reveal the human cost behind notorious murders.

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For further discussion and updates, follow @crimehouse on Instagram.

Transcript

[Vanessa Richardson]

Hi, Crime House community. It's Vanessa Richardson. Exciting news. Conspiracy theories, cults and crimes is leveling up. Starting the week of January 12th, you'll be getting two episodes every week. Wednesdays, we unravel the conspiracy or the cult, and on Fridays, we look at a corresponding crime. Every week has a theme. Tech, bioterror, power, paranoia, you name it. Follow conspiracy theories, cults and crimes now on your podcast app, because you're about to dive deeper, get weirder, and go darker than ever before.

[Carter Roy]

This is crime house.

[Narrator]

A missing tongue, footprints in the snow, unexplainable injuries, and a tent that was somehow still standing.

[Carter Roy]

When nine young Soviet hikers went missing in the Ural Mountains in the winter.

[Narrator]

Of 1959, the country rallied to find them. Eventually they did, but the hikers hadn't survived. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

[Carter Roy]

Soviet officials declared their cause of death an insurmountable force of nature.

[Narrator]

The report was chillingly vague, and it opened the door for lots of theories to emerge. Things like a secret military experiment gone.

[Carter Roy]

Wrong, a UFO encounter, or a yeti.

[Narrator]

Attack were floated for years. Even now, more than six decades later.

[Carter Roy]

We'Re still not sure what really happened.

[Narrator]

On that snowy peak. But one thing seems clear. It was anything but natural. Welcome to the story of Dyatlof Pass. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder.

[Carter Roy]

True Crime Stories, a Crime House original.

[Narrator]

Powered by Pave Studios. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Thank you for being part of the Crime House community.

[Carter Roy]

Please rate, review and follow the show.

[Narrator]

And for early ad free access to every episode, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Carter Roy]

This is the first episode of Murder.

[Narrator]

Mystery Fridays, where I'm covering unsolved cases with questions that I can't get out of my head, and the ones where.

[Carter Roy]

The evidence points in multiple directions and.

[Narrator]

Every theory feels like a possibility.

[Carter Roy]

Today, I'm discussing the Dyatlov Pass incident.

[Narrator]

One of Russia's most enduring mysteries and a story that's never sat quite right with me. In 1959, nine young hikers died under very strange circumstances in the northern mountains of Soviet Russia.

[Carter Roy]

Their tent was found torn open from the inside. Their bodies lay scattered across the snow. Some were barefoot, some were half dressed, and some had sustained injuries so severe they defied explanation. Investigators found no sign of struggle, no footprints but their own. For decades, no one knew what drove them out into the night or what truly killed them.

[Narrator]

That is, until 2019, when the answers finally felt within reach. All that and more coming up.

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[Carter Roy]

On January 23, 1959, 23 year old.

[Narrator]

Igor Dyatlov packed his bags and lashed his skis together. He had a big day ahead of him.

[Carter Roy]

Igor was a quiet but magnetic engineering.

[Narrator]

Student at the Soviet Union's Ural Polytechnic Institute, or upi, but his true passion was the great outdoors.

[Carter Roy]

As a member of the school's hiking club, Igor was famous for his technical skills and and for the way people instinctively followed his lead.

[Narrator]

That day he and eight other students were getting ready for an expedition. But this wasn't just another trip for Igor. It was a test, a trial that.

[Carter Roy]

Would cement his reputation as one of.

[Narrator]

The best young mountaineers in the country.

[Carter Roy]

Over the next 16 days he Igor would lead his team across 190 miles.

[Narrator]

Of mountainous terrain in an attempt to.

[Carter Roy]

Reach the peak of Mount Otortin.

[Narrator]

If everything went as planned, they'd return.

[Carter Roy]

Home with the highest hiking certification in.

[Narrator]

The Soviet Union, grade 3.

[Carter Roy]

The people Igor had chosen to go.

[Narrator]

With him were strong, capable and very smart. 26 year old Alexander Kolevatov studied nuclear.

[Carter Roy]

Physics, 21 year old Yuri Doronshenko focused.

[Narrator]

On radio engineering and 23 year old Nikolai Thibaubrino had graduated with a civil construction degree. Georgi Krivonischenko, a 23 year old hydraulics and construction student, also joined them. Georgi was the joker of the group.

[Carter Roy]

And insisted on bringing his mandolin and.

[Narrator]

Which is like a small guitar to keep spirits high.

[Carter Roy]

There were only two women, 22 year old Zina Kolmogorova and 20 year old Ludja Dubinina.

[Narrator]

Zina was another radio engineering student and she was tasked with keeping a diary of their journey.

[Carter Roy]

Meanwhile, Luda studied construction economics, a field.

[Narrator]

That combines engineering, management and finance. Ludo was known for her endurance on long hikes. Once she'd been accidentally shot in the.

[Carter Roy]

Leg during a hunting trip. Then she joked her way along her.

[Narrator]

50 mile rescue trip through Siberia's mountains.

[Carter Roy]

The final two members were 23 year old Rustim Slobodin, who'd already graduated with a mechanical engineering degree, and 21 year.

[Narrator]

Old Yuri Yudin, who was studying economics.

[Carter Roy]

Yuri was probably the weakest link.

[Narrator]

He suffered from rheumatism, heart issues and had bad knees.

[Carter Roy]

Despite all that, he found freedom in hiking and swore he would be able.

[Narrator]

To make it through the trip. Once everyone was ready to go, the.

[Carter Roy]

Group of nine students made their way from their dorms to the local train.

[Narrator]

Station in the city of Sverdlovsky. When they got on board, they noticed one unfamiliar face among them.

[Carter Roy]

A last minute addition. Sasha Zolotagriov was 37 years old, had gold teeth and was covered in tattoos.

[Narrator]

A hiking instructor and World War II.

[Carter Roy]

Veteran, he bore the weight of experience.

[Narrator]

In his weathered features. If his age or his looks concerned the rest of the hikers, they didn't show it. Igor knew what he was doing.

[Carter Roy]

If he was fine with Sasha coming.

[Narrator]

They knew he'd make a good addition. Besides, you didn't need to be a student to go on the expedition.

[Carter Roy]

The hiking certification was given out by.

[Narrator]

The government, not the university, so Sasha could lend some valuable experience. The next day, in the early morning hours of January 24, 1959, they all disembarked in Serov, a grim industrial town buried in frost and smoke.

[Carter Roy]

They'd already been traveling for nearly 11.

[Narrator]

Hours, and they still had a long layover before their next train north. The hikers were desperate to get some rest. They'd planned to just nap in the.

[Carter Roy]

Train station, but the staff told them.

[Narrator]

It was against the rules. So the group set out in search of shelter.

[Carter Roy]

Eventually, they struck a deal with a nearby elementary school. They could sleep in a classroom that morning in exchange for giving a talk.

[Narrator]

To the students later that day. The kids ended up loving them.

[Carter Roy]

The group spoke about their upcoming adventure and sang songs. They even promised to stop by on their way home to tell the students.

[Narrator]

All about their journey. When it was Time to catch their train.

[Carter Roy]

The children poured out of the schoolhouse.

[Narrator]

To wave goodbye as the 10 hikers walked back to the station. That evening they boarded the 6:30 train bound for Evedell, a remote mining town. They arrived about five hours later and spent the night huddled in the station. The next morning, January 25th, they packed.

[Carter Roy]

Up, ate what they could and boarded their last train to the settlement of Vize.

[Narrator]

In every Siberian town, Igor made a.

[Carter Roy]

Point to visit the forest workers since.

[Narrator]

They knew the land the best.

[Carter Roy]

In Vize, that man was 53 year old Ivan Rempel. Rempel warned Igor and the others that.

[Narrator]

The winter winds beyond the ridge were deadly. The kind that could lift a person off their feet and hurl them into a ravine. Igor just smiled. This was what they'd come for, a challenge.

[Carter Roy]

He thanked Rempel, copied one of his.

[Narrator]

Detailed maps and turned to his friends. They were ready, but not all of them were doing well.

[Carter Roy]

Yuri Yudin's old pains had returned.

[Narrator]

His back throbbed with every step and.

[Carter Roy]

A familiar stiffness crept down his legs.

[Narrator]

He tried to hide it, but Ygor could see the pain on his face.

[Carter Roy]

That afternoon, they all piled into the open bed of a truck bound for a logging camp called sector 41.

[Narrator]

This would be their final stop before beginning their hike. It was a brutal three hour ride through freezing wind and rutted roads. Every jolt of the tire sent a knife of pain through Yudin's spine.

[Carter Roy]

By the time they arrived, he knew the truth.

[Narrator]

He couldn't go any further.

[Carter Roy]

On January 28, 1959, Yuri Yudin said.

[Narrator]

Goodbye to his friends.

[Carter Roy]

The group helped him load his pack.

[Narrator]

For the long trip home.

[Carter Roy]

He watched as they skied away into the white expanse, nine figures shrinking into the snow.

[Narrator]

He was the last person who would ever see them alive. From there, the only witnesses were the hikers themselves, their cameras and their diary. The entries from those first few days of the journey paint a picture of camaraderie, exhaustion and cold. They joked about who got to sleep.

[Carter Roy]

Closest to the stove and talked about.

[Narrator]

How often they had to stop to scrape ice from their boots and skis.

[Carter Roy]

For two days they followed a hunting.

[Narrator]

Trail cut through the forest by the Mansee, the indigenous people of the Urals. But on the third day, the weather turned. The wind roared through the trees, snow fell in sheets and visibility dropped to almost zero. The hikers argued, doubled back and searched for better ground.

[Carter Roy]

As night fell, they realized all they could do was set up camp, share.

[Narrator]

A warm meal and plan to regroup in the morning. On January 31, eight days after they.

[Carter Roy]

Left Sverdlovsk, they began climbing toward the.

[Narrator]

Base of Ortortin Mountain, known as Dead Mountain in the Manses native language. The ascent was steep and the snow was heavy.

[Carter Roy]

To move faster, Igor implemented a system.

[Narrator]

He called path treading. Each hiker took turns walking ahead to stamp down the snow for five minutes.

[Carter Roy]

Then fell back to rest as another.

[Narrator]

Person took their place. Still, it was slow going. By late afternoon, they descended into a.

[Carter Roy]

Valley where where the trees thinned and the wind softened.

[Narrator]

They built a fire from damp fir.

[Carter Roy]

Branches and ate dinner inside their tent.

[Narrator]

Ygor wrote in the diary that it.

[Carter Roy]

Was hard to imagine such a cozy place anywhere. The next morning, February 1st, they began.

[Narrator]

Building a labaz, which is a storage cache for food and supplies they'd collect on their way back.

[Carter Roy]

This meant they could climb the summit.

[Narrator]

Without any unnecessary weight in their packs. The hikers left behind spare boots, extra.

[Carter Roy]

Skis, a first aid kit, and Georgie's beloved mandolin.

[Narrator]

The last photos of the group show.

[Carter Roy]

Them skiing single file in a blinding.

[Narrator]

White snowy haze toward the unknown. As the light faded, they set up.

[Carter Roy]

Camp on an open slope, an east facing stretch of snow that would catch the morning sun.

[Narrator]

They pitched their tent, cooked a final.

[Carter Roy]

Meal, and settled in for the night.

[Narrator]

Outside, the temperature plunged below zero. The wind screamed across the mountainside.

[Carter Roy]

Igor Dyatlov and his team knew the.

[Narrator]

Weather conditions would make their journey even more dangerous, but they were confident in their abilities. Deep down, they knew that they could.

[Carter Roy]

Overcome any challenge, make their climb and.

[Narrator]

Earn their coveted hiking certifications. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

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[Narrator]

On the afternoon of February 1, 1959.

[Carter Roy]

23 year old Igor Dyatlov and eight other hikers set up camp on a.

[Narrator]

Snowy open slope in the Ural Mountains.

[Carter Roy]

They planned to summit Otorten Mountain, then return to the Ural Polytechnic Institute on.

[Narrator]

February 13, where they would earn their grade three hiking certification, the highest in the Soviet Union. But by February 16, three days after.

[Carter Roy]

They were supposed to return home, no.

[Narrator]

One had heard from them. Igor's sister, 21 year old Rufina, was one of the first people to sound the alarm. She knew in her gut that something had gone wrong. She'd already tried to convince the faculty.

[Carter Roy]

At UPI to send out a search.

[Narrator]

Party, but they brushed her off.

[Carter Roy]

They told her that delays happen all the time and that Igor could have decided to extend the trip.

[Narrator]

Rufina insisted that her brother was an.

[Carter Roy]

Expert hiker and knew how important it was to communicate any changes. If he'd adjusted their plans, someone in their group would have hiked back to civilization to send a letter or a telegram. The next day, after more pleading from Rufina, the university finally sent a telegram.

[Narrator]

To Vige, the last known settlement before the mountains.

[Carter Roy]

The reply from Vijay arrived at the.

[Narrator]

University on February 18. It read, the Dyatlov group did not return. Now Rufina wasn't the only one who was worried. Two days later, on February 20, 1959, the university launched a formal search. Helicopters took off from Sverdlask.

[Carter Roy]

With volunteers and hiking experts, they flew north toward the Urals, scanning ridges and slopes along what they assumed to be the group's trail.

[Narrator]

But days passed with no sign of the hikers. They expanded the search to include the.

[Carter Roy]

Local Mansi people who knew the region best. The Manses were led by tribesman Stepan Kurikov. With their help, the team had their first breakthrough.

[Narrator]

On February 25th, Boris Slubstoff, a 22 year old member of the university hiking club, spotted ski Tracks in the distance. He and the others trudged through the.

[Carter Roy]

Snow, following the tracks uphill. That led them to a tent, half buried and collapsed.

[Narrator]

It clearly belonged to the hikers.

[Carter Roy]

Inside, everything looked normal. Food was laid out, clothing was folded in corners, and diaries were stacked and organized. At first glance, it seemed like the group had just left a search for firewood or relieved themselves in the snow.

[Narrator]

But a closer look told a different, scarier story. The backside of the canvas had been.

[Carter Roy]

Slashed a few times and ultimately sliced open. From the inside, it was obvious the students hadn't calmly left the tent. They'd run away from it.

[Narrator]

The next day, February 26, more volunteers arrived to help search.

[Carter Roy]

Approximately 20 yards away from the tent, they found nine sets of preserved footprints.

[Narrator]

One for each of the hikers.

[Carter Roy]

They extended nearly half a mile toward.

[Narrator]

The valley before eventually disappearing.

[Carter Roy]

Strangely enough, the tracks didn't look like they were made by boots, but bare feet, which meant the hikers had exited the tent without shoes and stepped onto the freezing snow.

[Narrator]

It was bizarre.

[Carter Roy]

And that afternoon, another search party discovered.

[Narrator]

Something even more disturbing.

[Carter Roy]

There was a spot beneath a cedar.

[Narrator]

Tree that looked kind of off.

[Carter Roy]

The branches were charred, and there were.

[Narrator]

Traces of a small fire pit. It was haphazard and had clearly been made in a bind.

[Carter Roy]

Just north of the pit, a volunteer.

[Narrator]

Spotted something sticking out of the snow. When they approached it, they realized it was a human knee. Eventually, the volunteers uncovered two male bodies. As expected, they weren't wearing shoes, but.

[Carter Roy]

They also weren't wearing jackets or pants. Whatever they had run from had come on fast. One man was face down, his arms tucked beneath his head, almost like a pillow. The other was face up on his back.

[Narrator]

His eyes and mouth had been gouged, probably by a scavenging bird. Despite the injuries to his face, the hiker was still recognizable as Georgie Krivonischenko. The body next to him was identified as Yuri Doroshenko. The first two hikers had officially been found, but there were seven more to go.

[Carter Roy]

The searchers moved farther away from Yuri and Georgi, and before long, they came.

[Narrator]

Upon Igor Dyatlov, his frozen hands clutching a birch tree, as though he'd been fighting against the storm.

[Carter Roy]

Nearby, they discovered Zina Kolmogorova. She was on her right side, face.

[Narrator]

Down in the snow, her face dark with dried blood.

[Carter Roy]

Like the others, she wore no shoes, though she still had on a hat.

[Narrator]

Ski jacket and ski pants. Several days later, between where they'd found.

[Carter Roy]

Igor and Zeena, searchers discovered the body of Rustem Slobodin.

[Narrator]

Rustem was more clothed than the others, wearing a sweater, ski pants, a hat and several pairs of socks. His right leg had frozen beneath him, his right fist pulled to his chest.

[Carter Roy]

He looked like he'd been fighting and crawling in the direction of the tent. A giant bruise darkened the front of his skull, suggesting he'd sustained a powerful.

[Narrator]

Blow of some kind. The discoveries led to early theories about what had happened. Perhaps a blizzard forced the hikers from the tent, or maybe they were swept away by an avalanche.

[Carter Roy]

But the questions remained.

[Narrator]

If wind or snow drove them out, how was the tent still there?

[Carter Roy]

Why were their supplies left untouched? Why were so many of them shoeless? And why did the victims look injured?

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, the autopsies didn't shed much light on the tragedy.

[Carter Roy]

The results came in the first week of March. The coroner ruled that Igor, Zina, Yuri, Giorgi and Rustem had all died of hypothermia. But they also had external and internal.

[Narrator]

Injuries, suggesting something more violent had taken place. It was confusing, but investigators thought the.

[Carter Roy]

Other four hikers might be the key.

[Narrator]

To finding the answer. The search continued throughout March and April. It was slow going. But then, on May 3, Stepan Kurakov, the Mansi tribesman, came across some unusual looking branches hundreds of yards away from where the first five bodies had been found. The branches looked like they'd been cut with a knife. And about six yards away, there was a disturbed patch of snow. The crew started digging, and before long they discovered a pile of fabric. An inside out gray vest, a pair.

[Carter Roy]

Of knitted pants, a brown sweater, one trouser leg and a long bandage were all bundled together.

[Narrator]

The volunteers dug around expecting to find bodies.

[Carter Roy]

Instead, they only found more clothing.

[Narrator]

The rest of the trousers and half.

[Carter Roy]

Of a woman's sweater.

[Narrator]

The clothes definitely belonged to the Dyatloff team. Fellow students recognized them, and they were later compared to photos from the group's cameras.

[Carter Roy]

But where were the hikers themselves? The searchers spent several more days digging.

[Narrator]

Until suddenly a shovel hit something solid. The first body they found was nearly unrecognizable from watching. Water and snow induced decomposition. Nearby, there were three more bodies. The only one they could immediately identify was Luda, the construction economics student who is known for her strength and positive attitude.

[Carter Roy]

She still wore her hat, two sweaters, pants and two pairs of socks, but.

[Narrator]

Just on one foot. The other was wrapped in a torn sweater. Luda's face was battered and her mouth was stained dark red. A closer look revealed something truly disturbing. Luda's tongue was missing.

[Carter Roy]

The other two bodies were partially embracing Luda, like they'd all been huddling together for warmth.

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, they were too ravaged to identify at that point. On May 8, the bodies were taken.

[Carter Roy]

To Evdell, the town at the foot.

[Narrator]

Of the Ural Mountains. The medical examiner identified the first body.

[Carter Roy]

As Alexander Kolevatov, the nuclear physics student. He had died of hypothermia.

[Narrator]

The two men who had wrapped themselves.

[Carter Roy]

Around Luda were Nikolay Thibaubrino, the civil.

[Narrator]

Construction graduate, and Sasha Zolotagriov, the late addition to the group. Luda, Nikolay and Sasha had all suffered incredibly violent injuries, so their causes of death weren't as clear cut.

[Carter Roy]

In addition to her missing tongue, Luda's rib cage was shattered and her heart had ruptured.

[Narrator]

Sasha's ribs were crushed inward and Nicolet's skull was fractured.

[Carter Roy]

It was clear that these injuries weren't.

[Narrator]

Caused by cold or exposure.

[Carter Roy]

The medical examiner determined that some sort of large violent force had caused the damage while the victims were alive, and that those injuries were what ultimately killed them. But the source of that injuries, violent.

[Narrator]

Force, well, that was still a mystery. In the days that followed.

[Carter Roy]

Lead investigator Lev Ivanov studied the evidence with growing disbelief. The tent had been slashed open from the inside. Nine sets of mostly bare footprints trailed into the darkness. Supplies, boots and clothing were left behind. Fires had been lit, but quickly extinguished. The hikers fled into minus 30 degrees.

[Narrator]

Celsius temperatures, which is about minus 22 Fahrenheit. There was no sign of an intruder.

[Carter Roy]

No known avalanche, and no physical struggle. By mid May 1959, about three months.

[Narrator]

After the hikers disappeared appeared. Their cause of death was announced as.

[Carter Roy]

An insurmountable force of nature. Rumors spread quickly through Sverdlovsk. Families whispered about government cover ups. Soldiers hinted that strange lights were seen.

[Narrator]

In the sky that night. Others claimed the hikers had stumbled onto a secret weapons test.

[Carter Roy]

But ultimately the case file was sealed. The mountains were closed to visitors, and.

[Narrator]

The answers to the mystery remained buried too deep to dig out.

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[Narrator]

In February 1959, nine hikers died in the Ural Mountains of the Soviet Union.

[Carter Roy]

According to the medical examiner, six had.

[Narrator]

Died of hypothermia and three from violent injuries.

[Carter Roy]

The Soviet government ruled that the last three deaths were the result of an.

[Narrator]

Unknown force of nature, then closed the investigation. But that didn't mean the story was over.

[Carter Roy]

The victim's friends and family were left with a lot of questions. And the most important one was also the most puzzling. What had caused these experienced hikers to leave their tent in the first place? An attack by members of the Mansi tribe was briefly floated, but the Mansi were a peaceful people and incredibly helpful.

[Narrator]

In the search for the missing students. It didn't make sense that they would target them. Alexei Krivonishenko, Georgi's father, had a different, more supernatural theory.

[Carter Roy]

He first heard about it from two.

[Narrator]

Other hikers who had recently made their own expedition into the northern Urals.

[Carter Roy]

On the night of February 1st, the same night Georgi and his companions presumably died, the hikers witnessed an extraordinary light.

[Narrator]

In the sky over the Ural Mountains.

[Carter Roy]

They said the glow was so bright they had to shield their eyes. And they weren't the only people who.

[Narrator]

Saw the mysterious light. Other hikers who'd been in the Urals between early and mid February reported seeing the same thing. These accounts caught the attention of of.

[Carter Roy]

Investigators at the Evedale prosecutor's office, who soon began calling in witnesses from across the region. One by one they spoke of strange glowing objects, most often described as slow moving orbs pulsing in the night sky. Were they UFOs?

[Narrator]

Soviet missile tests gone awry? No one knew for sure and no one could agree. Most witnesses said they saw the lights on February 17, not on the 1st like those two hikers had claimed.

[Carter Roy]

Even then, the sheer number and consistency.

[Narrator]

Of the accounts made the theory hard to ignore. It seemed like whatever had happened in the sky had something to do with the Dyatlov group's deaths.

[Carter Roy]

And soon the authorities got even more.

[Narrator]

Evidence that seemed to prove it.

[Carter Roy]

In mid March, about 20 days after the first hikers were found, investigators developed.

[Narrator]

The rolls of film recovered from the hikers cameras. Most of them didn't offer much information but the final image from Georgie's camera shocked them.

[Carter Roy]

Picture was blurry, but it appeared to.

[Narrator]

Show a glowing, indistinct light source dominating one side of the frame.

[Carter Roy]

To believers, this was proof that Georgi must have photographed the orb so many others had reported seeing.

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, later examination of the photo told a different story. The round shape was nothing more than a lens flare. The blurring was consistent with an accidental exposure, possibly taken when someone had mishandled the camera in the dark.

[Carter Roy]

As the orb theory began to lose credibility, the focus shifted to a different.

[Narrator]

More grounded radiation poisoning. After all, this took place during the height of the Cold War, the time.

[Carter Roy]

When the Soviet Union was competing with.

[Narrator]

The United States for nuclear supremacy. The Ural Mountains were vast and remote. Seemed like a pretty good place to conduct top secret military experiments. That led some people to wonder if.

[Carter Roy]

Igor's group had been the victims of a classified Soviet weapons test that ended in disaster.

[Narrator]

Maybe that would explain their panic and intense injuries. It was terrifying, but possible.

[Carter Roy]

Especially because when the hiker's clothing was.

[Narrator]

Tested, several garments showed elevated levels of radiation.

[Carter Roy]

In his report, Sverdlovsk, chief municipal radiologist, wrote that the level of contamination exceeded standards for people working with radioactive substances.

[Narrator]

It was the kind of result that invited speculation and the kind of rumor that Soviet authorities did not want circulating. And so, just as the investigation seemed on the verge of a breakthrough, everything stopped.

[Carter Roy]

On May 28, 1959, one day before the final radiation reports were supposed to be released, Lev Ivanov, the lead investigator on the Dyatlov case, was told to.

[Narrator]

Stop the inquiry immediately. No further tests, no new reports.

[Carter Roy]

For the next 51 years.

[Narrator]

There was no movement in the case.

[Carter Roy]

But even then, the mystery of Dyatlov Pass lingered. And there were still plenty of people who were determined to uncover the truth.

[Narrator]

In 2010, American author and documentary filmmaker Donny Eichar learned about the Dyatlov tragedy and became obsessed with cracking the case.

[Carter Roy]

Luckily for him, a lot had changed.

[Narrator]

Since those nine hikers perished.

[Carter Roy]

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and.

[Narrator]

Russia took its place.

[Carter Roy]

The new government was less secretive and.

[Narrator]

More open to outside investigation. That's probably why Donnie was able to get his hands on the original radiation test reports.

[Carter Roy]

He sent those to Dr. Christopher Strauss, an associate professor of radiology at the.

[Narrator]

University of Chicago Medical Center.

[Carter Roy]

Donnie was eager to learn if the radiation poisoning theory held any water all these years later. And according to Dr. Strauss, it didn't. He said the levels of beta particle.

[Narrator]

Decay on the hiker's clothes were completely normal.

[Carter Roy]

In fact, those Readings would have had.

[Narrator]

To be at least 50 times higher to be considered unusual, let alone harmful. It's not clear if the standards in.

[Carter Roy]

1959 were different or if the Soviet.

[Narrator]

Radiologist had made a mistake.

[Carter Roy]

But Dr. Strauss also had an explanation.

[Narrator]

For why there were even traces of radiation on the hikers in the first place.

[Carter Roy]

He said the contamination probably came from environmental fallout. That winter in 1959, nuclear tests were conducted on the islands of novaya Zemlya, roughly 850 miles north of where the.

[Narrator]

Hikers met their ends.

[Carter Roy]

Through the air, the snow, and the water cycle, those particles could have drifted south, settling invisibly across the Urals, but.

[Narrator]

Not in levels dangerous enough to harm someone. So with the radiation theory debunked, Donnie Eichar continued his investigation.

[Carter Roy]

It would take him across the United States, out to Russia, and ultimately to the very same slope on which the.

[Narrator]

Hiker'S tent was found 53 years earlier.

[Carter Roy]

Along the way, he was able to.

[Narrator]

Rule out plenty of other theories that had popped up over the years.

[Carter Roy]

One idea was that the hikers might.

[Narrator]

Have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning inside the tent, that a poorly ventilated stove had filled the air with toxic fumes.

[Carter Roy]

But Donnie discovered that the group had.

[Narrator]

Not started a fire that night.

[Carter Roy]

Their portable stove hadn't been used and still sat unassembled among their supplies.

[Narrator]

Supplies in the tent. Plus there was no smoke damage, no soot, no evidence of heat.

[Carter Roy]

There were also rumors of a wild animal attack.

[Narrator]

Some suggested a bear, a wolf, or even the mythical yeti had torn into.

[Carter Roy]

The tent, driving the hikers out in terror. But there were no signs that a.

[Narrator]

Struggle had taken place.

[Carter Roy]

The tent had been sliced open from the inside, not the exterior. And the bodies showed no bite marks or claw wounds. The only possible animal interaction was the.

[Narrator]

Removal of Luda's tongue, which investigators assumed was eaten by rodents after she died. The one theory that seemed the most plausible was also the least exciting.

[Carter Roy]

The hikers may simply have been victims of an avalanche. They pitched their tent high on a slope, and so maybe they'd heard the.

[Narrator]

Ominous groan of shifting snow above them and fled into the freezing dark, trying to outrun it.

[Carter Roy]

In 2012, Vladimir Borkunzov, an aviation engineer, investigator, and one of the foremost experts.

[Narrator]

On the Dyatlov case, decided to test the theory.

[Carter Roy]

Using GPS data, he calculated the mountain's slope with. With precision.

[Narrator]

What he found left little room for doubt.

[Carter Roy]

The runout angle, otherwise known as the distance snow would travel once released, was incredibly flat. Because of this, an avalanche simply couldn't move far enough or fast enough to reach the camp. Plus, while the tent was partially collapsed, it was still standing, and its contents were undisturbed.

[Narrator]

No avalanche could have passed over it without flattening everything in its path. Even back in 1959, investigators had dismissed the idea entirely.

[Carter Roy]

There were no telltale fractures, no debris fields, no displaced snow. And in the years since, Donnie could find no record of an avalanche ever.

[Narrator]

Having been documented or on that mountain slope.

[Carter Roy]

Running out of options, Donnie tried something no one had been able to do.

[Narrator]

So get an interview with Yuri Yudin.

[Carter Roy]

Now in his mid-70s, Yudin had been.

[Narrator]

The last person to see the Dyatlov.

[Carter Roy]

Group alive before he left the hike.

[Narrator]

Because of his chronic pain, tracking Yudin down wasn't easy.

[Carter Roy]

At some point, he'd become a recluse. Whether he was overcome with survivor's guilt.

[Narrator]

Annoyed by all the questions about the.

[Carter Roy]

Hikers, or simply grown older, Yudin made.

[Narrator]

It clear he didn't want to be found.

[Carter Roy]

But Donnie was determined. He spent years trying to get in touch with Yuri, and eventually he succeeded. In February 2012, 53 years after the.

[Narrator]

Dyatlov group went missing, Donnie met with Yuri in Russia for an interview. After covering the basics, Donnie asked Yuri the question everyone had wanted to know. What did he think happened to his friends? Yuri said he didn't think they died in an accident or by natural causes. To him, the explanation was far darker.

[Carter Roy]

Yuri believed that maybe the group had crossed into a restricted area and that.

[Narrator]

Armed men had found them. He thought they saw something they shouldn't have and were killed because of it. In Yuri's mind, the scene on the mountain had been staged. His friends were coerced, forced to walk.

[Carter Roy]

Into the forest half dressed and ordered to destroy their own clothing to create.

[Narrator]

Confusion, then abandoned to die in the cold. Yuri's main piece of evidence was Luda's missing tongue. Investigators had always assumed it had either decomposed or had been eaten by animals. But Yuri didn't buy that.

[Carter Roy]

He thought that strong willed, outspoken Luda.

[Narrator]

Had been singled out. She had talked too much and been punished for it.

[Carter Roy]

There were other small discrepancies that fueled Yuri's theory. Luda's beloved good luck charm, the tiny.

[Narrator]

Stuffed hedgehog she always carried, had not been found with her.

[Carter Roy]

The hiker's chocolate rations were also missing, with no wrappers left behind. To Yuri, these were traces of human.

[Narrator]

Interference, signs of looting or concealment. Someone had taken these things, thinking no one would notice.

[Carter Roy]

Donnie listened, but he wasn't convinced. After the interview, he looked Into Yuri's.

[Narrator]

Claims and confirmed what he'd suspected all along. Yuri was almost certainly wrong. The hedgehog toy had been logged as.

[Carter Roy]

Evidence, and Luda's tongue wasn't cut out.

[Narrator]

It was missing due to natural decomposition. Her body had been laying in the partially melted snow for weeks. During that time, water and microorganisms had eroded the soft tissue. Even the missing chocolate had a mundane answer.

[Carter Roy]

When Donnie interviewed searchers from the original 1959 recovery, two of them admitted that they'd found the hiker's chocolate, eaten it.

[Narrator]

And pocketed the wrappers as they continued on their mission.

[Carter Roy]

To Donnie, it felt like every theory.

[Narrator]

Fell apart as soon as it was examined. By 2013, after traveling to Russia, interviewing.

[Carter Roy]

Yuri Yudin, and talking to countless experts.

[Narrator]

He was almost ready to give up. Then his research led him toward a.

[Carter Roy]

Stranger but even more realistic theory. A phenomenon called infrasound. Infrasound is the inverse of ultrasound and.

[Narrator]

Exists below the range of human hearing. But even though we can't hear it.

[Carter Roy]

We can feel it.

[Narrator]

These low frequency waves can occur naturally.

[Carter Roy]

In the world as byproducts of earthquakes, landslides, and storms.

[Narrator]

Man made infrasound is also possible. It can happen via ventilation systems, wind farms and machinery.

[Carter Roy]

And at certain intensities.

[Narrator]

Infrasound can wreak havoc on the human.

[Carter Roy]

Body, producing nausea, disorientation, panic, and in.

[Narrator]

Extreme cases, psychological collapse.

[Carter Roy]

During his research, Donnie learned that some governments had experimented with infrasound in the past.

[Narrator]

Nazi Germany had once used low frequency sound to manipulate crowds at political rallies and had experimented with it as a form of weaponized torture.

[Carter Roy]

Donnie wondered if the Dyatlov hikers were.

[Narrator]

Victims of an infrasound attack, either in.

[Carter Roy]

The form of a test by the Soviet government or in a naturally occurring.

[Narrator]

Scenario due to the wind conditions on the mountain. He reached out to Dr. Alfred J. Bedard, Jr. He was a senior scientist and infrasonic.

[Carter Roy]

Specialist at the national oceanic and Atmospheric.

[Narrator]

Administration in Boulder, Colorado, and had spent decades studying how these frequencies behave. If anyone could determine whether infrasound had played a role in the hikers deaths, it was him.

[Carter Roy]

Dr. Bedard confirmed that under the right conditions, an infrasound incident could have occurred on the mountain. Then he asked Donnie if he had ever heard of something called a Karman vortex. Dr. Bedard explained that a karman vortex.

[Narrator]

Is a rare meteorological pattern. It forms when wind passes a blunt object of a particular shape and speed.

[Carter Roy]

Creating alternating spirals of air.

[Narrator]

These spirals are essentially miniature tornadoes that roll away in two Parallel lines.

[Carter Roy]

They can create strong vibrations in the air, and sometimes they generate infrasound.

[Narrator]

As they studied Donnie's photographs of the.

[Carter Roy]

Campsite, Dr. Bedard noticed something striking. The mountain's summit had a perfectly symmetrical rounded dome, exactly the kind of shape that could produce a Karman vortex under.

[Narrator]

The right wind conditions. The tent's location just below that dome.

[Carter Roy]

Placed the hikers directly in the path.

[Narrator]

Of those invisible vortices. In other words, it was a perfect setup for disaster. Donnie was stunned.

[Carter Roy]

Bedard was telling him that his infrasound theory wasn't just possible, but probable. Together, they imagined what the hikers might.

[Narrator]

Have experienced inside their tent that night. There would have been a sudden gust of wind, then a low thrum humming vibration in the ground.

[Carter Roy]

Suddenly, a roar as loud as a.

[Narrator]

Freight train would have passed from west to east. The canvas walls of the tents would.

[Carter Roy]

Have started to tremble, and the hikers.

[Narrator]

Chests would have been vibrating with sub audible pressure.

[Carter Roy]

Another roar from the north would have.

[Narrator]

Increased their growing panic.

[Carter Roy]

Their breath would have tightened, their hearts.

[Narrator]

Would have been pounded, and the terror.

[Carter Roy]

Would have started to override reason. Dr. Bedard believed that this could explain everything. The panic, the confusion, the frantic decision to cut their way out into the cold. The hikers weren't running from an avalanche or an intruder. They were fleeing from sound itself, from.

[Narrator]

The deep, invisible pressure waves of the mountain wind.

[Carter Roy]

For more than 60 years, the story.

[Narrator]

Of the Dyatlov Pass has haunted those who heard it. Nine experienced hikers vanished into a snowstorm, never to be heard from again.

[Carter Roy]

Families demanded answers. Investigators chased leads that faded in into the cold.

[Narrator]

Over time, the case turned into more than a tragedy. It became a legend.

[Carter Roy]

Donnie Eicher and Dr. Bedard's infrasound theory offered a logical explanation that bridged science and circumstance. Unfortunately, experts are split on whether infrasound.

[Narrator]

Can actually cause this level of psychological distress.

[Carter Roy]

And the Russian government seemed to think it couldn't.

[Narrator]

In 2019, Russian officials reopened the investigation.

[Carter Roy]

And returned to an old theory that.

[Narrator]

A rare type of slab avalanche had forced the hikers out of their tent, prompting them to run out into the cold. This verdict, like all others, remains highly disputed.

[Carter Roy]

Most experts agree that the conditions weren't.

[Narrator]

Right for an avalanche. But as far as the Russian government is concerned, that's what happened. The truth is, we may never know the full story.

[Carter Roy]

There are still several details that we.

[Narrator]

Can'T explain, including the lights in the.

[Carter Roy]

Sky, the burnt tree, and the hiker's extensive injuries.

[Narrator]

But in our rush to try to.

[Carter Roy]

Understand can be easy to forget the.

[Narrator]

True damage that was caused that day. Nine young people lost their lives.

[Carter Roy]

They were brilliant students, accomplished professionals and adventurous spirits. They were all united by their love of the outdoors and their desire to prove themselves. And while we can never bring them.

[Narrator]

Back, we can know their journey ended the same way it began.

[Carter Roy]

Together.

[Narrator]

Thanks so much for listening.

[Carter Roy]

I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next time for the story of another murder and all the people it affected.

[Narrator]

True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios.

[Carter Roy]

Here at Crime House, we want to.

[Narrator]

Thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today.

[Carter Roy]

Reach out on social media, Rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Murder True Crime Crime Stories Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator]

Your feedback truly makes a difference.

[Carter Roy]

And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode early and ad free.

[Narrator]

We'll be back on Tuesday. True Crime Stories is hosted by me.

[Carter Roy]

Carter Roy and is a Crime House.

[Narrator]

Original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by.

[Carter Roy]

The Murder True Crime Stories team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Burtovsky, Lori Marinelli, Ellie Reed, Sarah Camp and Russell Nash.

[Narrator]

Thank you for listening.

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[Vanessa Richardson]

Looking for your next listen? Hi, it's Vanessa Richardson and I have exciting news. Conspiracy theories, Cults and crimes is leveling up starting the week of January 12th. You'll be getting two episodes every week. Wednesdays we unravel the conspiracy or the cult and on Fridays we look at a corresponding crime. Follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen.