Via Jonno :“The Dyatlov Pass incident refers to an event that resulted in the deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural mountains on the night of February 2, 1959 … The lack of eyewitnesses and subsequent investigations into the hikers’ deaths have inspired much speculation. Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot in heavy snow. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue.” (Wikipedia; photo via)
I was thinking about this in the shower this morning; I honestly think I solved the mystery. The expeditioners thought they heard an avalanche in the middle of the night, so they all scrambled out of the tent in various stages of undress, their panic explaining their lack of clothes and the fact that the tent appeared clawed from the inside out. They ran willy-nilly into the night, separating into two groups, and heavy snowfall made it impossible for both groups to find their way back. One group froze to death, while the other group was buried under an avalanche. My avalanche theory further explains the mysterious condition of the bodies in the second group: the pressure from the snow might conceivably cause the bone fractures (skull, rib, etc.), yet cause no soft tissue damage.
As for the woman with the missing tongue and the men with the orange skin — my guess is that these people were part of the first group, that died of exposure in the open air. Bacteria always attack the mouth and other orifices of a corpse first; either this or scavenging forest animals could explain the missing tongue. “Orange skin” = exposure to sub-zero temperatures and wind damage caused their skin to turn a burnt-siena, leathery type color.
Meanwhile, Kruschev allowed the investigation into the hikers’ deaths to be inconclusive, because he knew it would bolster the people of the Soviet era’s all-important fear of the state and its murderous powers, nuclear testing, mysterious killing squads, marauding natives, etc.
AAAND MYSTERY SOLVED.
I do my best thinking in the shower, I will ponder the Bermuda Triangle for you all tomorrow if you would like.
Congrats. Pass this info on to the authorities and perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to obtain a £20 giftcard for WHSmith.
