In the brutal winter of 1959 nine highly experienced mountain climbers hiked into the freezing Ural Mountains of the Soviet Union. They were completely prepared for the extreme weather and knew exactly how to survive in the deep snow. But they never made it back to their university. Weeks later a search party found their abandoned camp on the side of a mountain perfectly named the Mountain of the Dead.
What the rescuers found there is still considered one of the creepiest unsolved mysteries in human history. The hikers did not freeze by accident. Something completely terrifying drove them out of their safe shelter in the middle of the night.
A Desperate Escape From Inside
The search party found the main tent completely collapsed in the snow. But the door of the tent was still tied shut. The hikers had used knives to slash massive holes through the thick canvas from the inside. They were in such a massive panic that they cut their way out into thirty degree below zero weather instead of untying the flap.
Footprints in the snow showed that all nine people ran down the mountain toward a dark forest. They were completely unprepared for the elements. Some were wearing only socks. Others were completely barefoot or wearing a single boot. They left behind all their heavy winter coats and survival gear. They sprinted into the freezing darkness running away from an unknown threat that they considered much more dangerous than the deadly cold.
Bizarre Injuries In The Snow
The bodies were found scattered over the next few months. The first few hikers clearly died from hypothermia. They were found near the remains of a tiny fire under a massive pine tree. But the bodies found deeper in a ravine made investigators completely sick.
Three of the hikers had massive internal injuries. One had a shattered skull and two had completely crushed chests. A doctor who examined them said the force required to break those bones was equal to a massive car crash. But there were absolutely no external cuts or bruises on their skin. It was as if an invisible wave of extreme pressure had crushed them.
The details got even more disgusting. One of the female hikers was missing her tongue and her eyes. Another hiker was missing his eyebrows. And when the investigators tested the clothing they found strangely high levels of radiation on the fabric.
The Government Shuts It Down
The Soviet government quickly closed the entire area to the public. They classified the files and blamed the deaths on an unknown compelling natural force. This massive secrecy launched decades of wild theories.
Some people blamed a local indigenous tribe but there were absolutely no other footprints in the snow. Others thought the hikers stumbled into a secret military weapons test that went horribly wrong. People even suggested a massive panic attack caused by a weird wind phenomenon called infrasound that silently vibrates the human brain and causes intense fear. Recently scientists used computer models to prove a bizarre delayed avalanche could have crushed the tent and caused the injuries.
But an avalanche does not explain the missing tongue or the radiation. The families of the hikers never fully accepted the official answers. The dark slopes of the Dyatlov Pass refuse to give up their secrets. The true reason those nine friends ran into the freezing night is still buried out there in the snow.
References: For a closer look at the modern scientific theories regarding this frozen tragedy you can check out the complete Dyatlov Pass investigation by National Geographic.