By Tim Binnall
Recent expeditions to the site of the Dyatlov Pass incident have produced compelling new evidence which seemingly strengthens the case that the infamous event was the result of an avalanche. Researchers Johan Gaum and Alexander Puzrin made worldwide headlines last year when they used scientific models to show how a slab avalanche had likely been the initial event which caused the legendary unsolved mystery wherein nine hikers perished under inexplicable circumstances in Russia's Ural Mountains back in 1959. In a fascinating follow up to that work, the pair have published a new paper which details how they journeyed to Dyatlov Pass three times over the past year and found signs which suggest that their explanation for the case has considerable merit.
In the enlightening update, they explain that the response to their work was "overwhelming" and largely favorable from media outlets outside of Russia. However, they observed, there remained many skeptics in the country where the incident occurred with most noteworthy argument against their conclusion being that the Dyatlov Pass location was "not susceptible to avalanche hazard." Conceding that "this was worrying," Gaum and Puzrin set out to dispel that notion and actually enlisted guides to go to the spot where the incident took place in order to study the conditions of the area. While their first two trips to the site provided some tantalizing observations, their third expedition would up producing some truly compelling and solid evidence for their theory.
Appropriately conducted "on the 28th of January 2022, exactly 63 years after the Dyatlov group was seen alive for the last time," the researchers and their guides recreated the hikers' fateful journey. En route to the location, they noted, "initially favorable weather conditions quickly deteriorated, with wind and temperatures becoming similar to those on the night of the 1959 tragedy." Following a spell of "extremely poor" visibility, conditions improved and the team observed "traces of two snow slab avalanches" that had occurred less than a mile from where the hikers had camped that night so long ago.
While the team was able to document this evidence, they stressed that it quickly vanished due to the weather conditions with one such avalanche indicator "practically invisible after less than an hour" due to snowfall in the area. "No wonder then that the Dyatlov rescue team could not find signs of an avalanche three weeks after the incident," the researchers marveled. Based on their observations during the expeditions, the duo expressed confidence that they have upended the argument that the location is not prone to avalanches, specifically of the kind that they believe set the tragic events of that evening in motion.
In closing out their paper, the researchers also shared a rather interesting perspective on the addictive nature of investigating the peculiar event. Reflecting on how, when they first published their findings back in 2021, "we were asked whether our article brings to an end our work" and that, at the time, they suspected this to be the case because "we did not want to spend the rest of our lives trying to solve the Dyatlov Pass mystery." However, suggesting that the story has taken hold of them in a manner they never quite expected, the duo mused that "one year later, we are no longer so sure. If someone asks, we will refrain from an answer."