Dyatlov Pass Hoax Debunked

Over 50 years ago, 9 skiers were having a hike on skis, aiming to reach Mt Otorten in the northern Ural Mountains. There were initially 10 in the group, but one hiker developed dysentery and stayed back at the last town the group reached. The hikers made camp on February 1, but never sent a telegraph signal to indicate they had successfully made the journey. On February 26, their camp was discovered, the tent slashed from the inside, but no bodies.

As searchers began searching around the camp, the bodies began to be discovered. Two were just dressed in their underwear and had burns on their hands and feet. Their skin was curiously orange. Autopsies showed a number of blunt force injuries, included crushed skulls, the removal of eyes, and even faces were missing. Beta radiation was discovered on some of the bodies and strange lights were seen in the sky by several witnesses.

Several Elaborate Hoaxes Have Been Created

Everything from a wandering yeti in the mountains to aliens have been used to explain what happened to these nine skiers, but none of them really has evidence behind them. What is known is that the Soviet Union would regularly use that area in the Ural Mountains for testing and training purposes. Bombers would release bombs on a parachute so they could see where they would impact if they needed to conduct the exercise for real.

This would account for all of the strange circumstances that happened with the skiers. The bombs would have had lights attached to them in night training so they could be tracked. There would be heat and radiation associated with the bombs. It’s very likely that the skiers could have encountered the training mission, touched the bombs, and had the KGB come in to clean up the mess afterward so there wouldn’t be any witnesses.

What about the gruesome injuries? It’s very possible that a bomb could have fallen on some of the skiers to account for the impacts. Those who escaped could have been caught by an avalanche. After death, animals could have mutilated the bodies. The fact is that there are several weeks of missing time where anything could have happened.

Did the Americans Kill the Skiers?

According to one popular theory, two of the skiers that entered Dyatlov Pass were actually KGB agents who were assigned to deliver radioactive materials to CIA agents that were operating in the area. The radioactive elements would be tracked and the pictures would provide evidence of the spying that was happening in the area. This theory says that the American agents figured out the plan, killed the skiers to hide their presence in the area, and then continued on with their work.

The Dyatlov Pass hoax has come up with a number of explanations, but the facts of the case will probably never be 100% known. The myths that have been created around the known narrative have made for great Hollywood movies and many fascinating conversations, but there is no evidence to clearly determine what happened to those hikers.