Introduction

On January 23, 1959, a group of ten college students, each of them experienced hikers in their early twenties, boarded a train in Sverdlovsk and set off on their very meticulously planned ski trip in the North Ural mountains of Russia. Their trip was planned to last about sixteen days, and they aimed to cover 190 miles all while enduring brutal winds, several feet of snow, and negative degree weather. The original plan had been to reach the small village of Vizhay and send a telegram to indicate the end of their journey and reassure their families back home that they were okay, but this never happened.

In the group there were eight men and two women. There was 23-year-old Igor Dyatlov, the leader and one of the most experienced in the group. There was also Zinaida Kolmogorova, who was 22, Yuri Doroshenko, who was 21, Alexsander Kolevatov, who was 24, Yuri Krivonischenko, who was 23, Rustem Slobodin, who was 23 and Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignolle who was 23. There was also 20-year-old Lyudmila Dubinina, and 22-year-old Yuri Yudin. Last but not least was Semyon Zolotaryov, a 38-year-old sports instructor, who, along with Igor, was another one of the most experienced athletes in the group.

Nine out of the ten in the group died on this expedition. Their frozen bodies, some with horrible and unexplainable injuries, were discovered scattered in various areas leading away from their campsite. Their tents were found to be slashed from the inside, as if they were trying to escape from something in a hurry and this added to the mysterious puzzle of their deaths. It's unexplained mysteries like these that have caused dozens of conspiracy theories to form that have lasted over sixty years.

What happened to cause these young college students to die early deaths so tragically and mysteriously? What were the horrible and unexplainable injuries inflicted on their bodies? What caused them to flee frantically from their campsite in the middle of a frozen wasteland so quickly? Ten students left home to go on this journey, but only one returned.


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Dyatlov Expedition members, Source: LEMMiNO/Youtube
Image: Members of the Dyatlov Group CNN