Book Review | Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is one of those cases that will haunt me forever. I so badly want to know what happened on that cold February night in 1959 on Dead Mountain to send nine young adults who were experienced hikers cutting their way out of their tents, half-clothed, mostly shoeless, into the freezing night. When they did not return home at the expected time, eventually a search party would find their bodies about a mile from their campsite. Some had varying sign of violent injuries (including 3rd degree burns, singed hair, chunks of flesh missing, etc), the majority died of hypothermia; some alone, some together, but all 100% dead with elevated levels of radiation on clothing.

It's not as though Russia would be very forthcoming with any information or details, so unfortunately I think everything we already know is all we will ever have. There is quite a bit of research here and the author uses contemporary sources - including journals and photos of the hikers. There is also some access to government records, but probably not everything. The author even retraced the path taken over sixty years ago, and interviewed those connected to the case - including the only survivor, Yuri Yudin, who had to turn back due to a medical issue.

There are numerous theories about what occurred on the mountain that night, that vary from logical to outlandish, and everything in between. Some insist there was an avalanche or some kind of violent wind patterns that created some kind of massive snow tornado but more dangerous. Then there are those who beleve it had to do with aliens (it's almost never aliens). Some think those native to the region were responsible for the deaths, or that some kind of wild animal attacked. Perhaps they witnessed something they were not meant to, or Russia was testing some new secret weapon and they got caught in the crossfire, and so on and so on. I can only imgine how the never-ending theories frustrated and hurt their families, in addition to the crushing weight of simply not knowing.

The author moves back and forth in time, telling their story through the journals and photos left behind in 1959, and then in the years he spent researching and retracing their final steps. The journals and photos were crucial for the hikers; all but one were students at the Ural Polytechnic Institute and members of the school's hiking club. Daily they documented their activities, which would help prove they were prepared and qualified for their Grade III certs. While nothing in the journals or photos show anything amiss or give any clues as to what killed them, we see them in their last days, enjoying themselves and having fun even as they're working extremely hard.

I would not necessarly call this the 'untold' story of the events, though his theory is the first time I've come across this idea; like some of the other logical ones, it makes sense. After considering everything known about the mountain and the hikers, Eichar posits that infrasound (low-frequeny sound waves) generated by the curve of the mountains and the high winds as they passed over is the culprit. These sound waves, according to his theory, could have caused physical discomfort and led to irrational behavior due to the mental distress and feelings of panic.

In the last chapter the author presents his theory in narrative form, describing what the events of the evening could have looked like that led to nine healthy, strong, young people disappearing into the night, completely unprepared for the elements. I feel like this was written in a respectful way, despite it being speculation.

In the end, all we know is that eight men and two women started the journey to earn their Grade III hiking certification. Yudin survived only because he could not continue the hike due to a sciatica flare-up. As painful as sciatic nerves are when they are raging, this ultimately saved his life. The other nine continued on, and were never seen alive again.

Highly recommended.