Dark Tourism Mystery: Dyatlov Pass, Ural Mountains, Russia
Ten students from Ural Polytechnic Institute went hiking to reach Otorten Mountain in the northern Ural range in January 1959. One had a health problem and left the group. His nine friends continued onward, to their deaths. It’s clear how they died; they froze to death, and some had traumatic injuries. Yet nobody knows why nine experienced young campers would suddenly abandon their tent to face arctic weather, leaving their winter clothing and gear behind.
Scientists now think there was an avalanche, but the Dyatlov case is still debated. The site, now called Dyatlov Pass after the group’s leader Igor Dyatlov, is still a forbidding site, off the major routes and difficult to reach. However, tourists make the trek to see if they can unravel the mystery of the Dyatlov hiking group. A large rock near the hiker’s tent site bears a memorial plaque to the nine hikers.
