2019 Snow Slab Theory
In 2019, Russian authorities, led by prosecutor Andrei Kuryakov, looked at the Dyatlov Pass incident again. Kuryakov’s study found that the “compelling natural force” was a snow slab avalanche. In a snow slab avalanche, the surface layer of snow is compact, dense, and heavy. This snow beneath this crust is weaker. When the crust breaks free from the underlying weaker snow, it forms a slab that moves down a slope.
The theory says digging out the upper layer snow around the tent to make a level place to camp weakened the snow crust. As the winds blew (possibly 104.6 kph, or 65 mile per hour katabatic winds), it could have destabilized. If additional snow had blown onto the slab and added weight, or strong winds pushed on the slab, it could have forced a slab avalanche.
