Methanol poisoning symptoms may include a decreased level of consciousness, poor coordination, vomiting, abdominal pain, and a specific smell on the breath. Decreased vision may start as early as twelve hours after exposure. Long term outcomes may include blindness and kidney failure. Toxicity and death may occur even after drinking a small amount. (Wikipedia)
Fans of this theory point out the following aspects of hikers behavior that might be explained with methanol poisoning:
The way methanol made its way into hikers systems has into three versions:
Just to exhaust the topic - in the 60s dry alcohol tablets existed, but even if you say that somebody could have slipped a tremendous amount of tablets in their food, the main ingredient in the dry alcohol is not alcohol at all but Hexamine (Wikipedia). We have to scratch this theory because the stove was found in its case, disassembled, and because there was no liquid food to slip the tablets into. The hikers were cutting loin that night. There wasn't anything warm, like tea or soup.
Galina Sazonova reached out to Askinadzi with the question did they use any dry alcohol tablets at the time. His answer is:
"We never used dry alcohol, not to show off, but because it was difficult to get it, like everything else."
What will you investigate now ? Why are you including such a stupid theories of death.
Bootleg Booze
The Dominican Republic has a major issue with methanol introduction to their resorts minibar currently. People are dropping like flies the first night they touch the stuff.
https://www.thecut.com/2019/06/dominican-republic-deaths-police-investigating-fake-alcohol.html
The number of deaths are higher now, and unexplained victims of years past would raise the total much higher.