I may be wrong, but IMO one of the photo's shows the den's roof?
I would imagine a simple square hole would have been dug out by hand and with sticks, not unlike the process of making the tent trench, and big enough to house 4 people.
A seating area would be lined with insulating fir foliage and clothing, and the roof opening covered with sturdier branches and other material, possibly some clothing cut-offs, and then some of the snow spoil, which would also effect a windbreak around the den, would be drawn over the top, allowing only a breather hole.
Later on, after months of snow, and the hurricane which would blow loose snow off the mountain slope and down towards the ravine/den area as a deep drift, the site was buried under metres of snow.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me these two photo's are of different things, roof and seating. One shows a cavity beneath and what clothing material is there hangs through, and the other shows firm snow underneath and 4 pieces of clothing arranged as corner seats.
I tend to agree with Eurocentric on this. It looks like it could be the roof of the den, exactly how Eurocentric is saying.
I was wanting to do a more detailed reply but time is short at the moment.
The photo below looks like the small man would be standing to the left if he was in the photo.
The picture below seems to be photographed from above. Where the small guy was standing in the other photos.
I think Povetkin may be incorrect on a number of points. He believes that it would be an axe that caused the oblique cuts. I would disagree. It's been shown several times that a knife can cut through small trees by bending the tree and applying pressure from a knife. I don't think a single blow from an axe would cut a tree in that manner. The axe would bounce off or slide at that kind of angle. , Especially on small young trees. A saw perhaps but it is an odd angle to use a saw to cut a small tree..
There are similarities with how the other group of hikers endured their hike at the same time as the Dyatlov group. We can also see that these long hikes are common practice within Russia. I think this is Bolinias group. ( I'll need to check the spelling, I'm in a rush) . 'they made a den!!" Plus it has their diaries. They describe their own survival and the use of making a snow den.
Here is the link to the page. Worth reading, I have only copied half of it.
https://pandia.org/text/78/123/42042.php I find this interesting from their diaries and it seems this group are aware of the missing Dyatlov group by the 18th of February.
Evgeny ZINOVEV
Subpolar Urals
Simultaneously with the Dyatlovites, on January 23, 1959, our team of fourth-year students from the UPI, led by Sergei Sogrin, left for the Subpolar Urals. The goal of our hike of the third (highest) category of difficulty and a longed-for dream was the winter pioneer ascents to the peaks of the Sablya, Neroika and Telpoz-Iz mountains. We planned to cover them with a circular 500-kilometer route. Not everything was successful, but we went through an incredibly difficult route through the Subpolar Urals, which was complicated by two emergency situations. They should be mentioned for an objective assessment and a correct understanding of the actions of the Dyatlovites when choosing the place of their last overnight stay.
To the starting point of our route, the village of Aranets, in severe frost with a sledge train, we ran 75 km on the ice of the Pechora River from the station of the same name on the infamous Leningrad-Vorkuta highway. At times we jumped into the sleigh that carried our backpacks to catch our breath and rest a little. But the frost again and again drove us onto the road, not allowing us to relax and forcing us to warm up on the run. It's been a good workout. Our difficulties began as soon as we left Arantz in the direction of Mount Saber, the top of which stuck out like a sharp blade among the snow-covered ridges of the Subpolar Urals. Saber 70 km off-roadthrough the deep snows of the circumpolar taiga and swampy woodlands. The main difficulties were associated with overcoming the deepest snow, which hindered both the progress along the route and the arrangement of accommodation for the night. How did it look? I will cite the pages of the personal diary of Viktor Malyutin, a participant in our campaign.
" - 3 January 7 , 1959 Hooray ! The weather is spoiling us for now . There was a blizzard last night . You are sitting in a hut , it is so warm , and outside the window the wind is howling , and something is rattling in the chimney . And today the wind is small , pouring a little snow . Temperature minus 1 OH .
immediately went to the Sibiryakovsky tract , along which Sibiryakov carried grain to Asia . First, a road runs along the tract , along which collective farmers carry timber to the Pechora River in winter . After 2 km , this road ends , then there is a tract , but in fact - a trail . It is good that the hunters left ahead of us , so that part of the ski track , although covered with powder , is comparatively easy to walk . But if you stumble , you fall through knee-deep or completely fall . Backpacks , it turns out , are something bulky and heavy , swinging behind with your back in all directions , when you stumble , then one leg falls to the waist , and you yourself fall on backpacks and hide in the snow with legs and horns . You have to take off your backpack and climb with the help of someone else's hands. The temperature is - 5 "C, it's snowing and immediately melts on clothes. Therefore, windbreakers, and covers, and pants are wet. We got up for the night at 3.50 to see how everything would turn out for us: setting up a tent, stove, food. When the stove is heated, it is very warm in the tent, + 15 ° C. But the attendants fell asleep, in the middle of the night the stove went out, it became terribly cold.
- February 1 , 1959 We got up at 8 o'clock in the morning, ate, and I began to fold the tent. It turned out to be something so bulky that it barely fit into the backpack, since it was all icy and there was no room left for anything else. He folded down the sugar and bags of porridge, then put down the tent, tied the crackers on the bottom, but his back was crushed with sugar, he tapped the sugar with axes, it became softer. It's colder outside, -16°C. It snowed until noon, but then it stopped. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon we reached the Vertny stream.
Viktor Malyutin ( during the search for Dyatlovites, March 1959 ) Photo by V. Yakimenko
The trail of hunters went to the headwaters , and we go through the virgin lands. But it is very difficult and terrible, as you fall down to the waist and swim in the snow. Martyushev Borka the fish is well, because he is light as a feather, and he fell into his element. They reduced the bag of Igor Kuzminykh, and he went to toil. He turned 22 today, congratulations. In the evening - 18°C.
And here is the first emergency that happened to us.
“-February 4, 1959. On the“ street ”minus 34 ° С. They went to sleep. And suddenly, in the middle of the night, a terrible cry: “We are burning!”. This is Serega Sogrin, having heated the stove, burned the top of the tent. They threw the stove out of the tent and tried to sleep, but the cold was terrible - minus 42 °C. The most cold is Borka-fish. To warm him up, Seryoga decided to wrap me in a sack with him. It was crowded, two in one bag, but somehow warmer. After dozing for about an hour, they became very stiff and went to the fire, where Vitya Plyshevsky was already sitting. It was at 4 o'clock in the morning. We spent the whole day on the spot, repairing the tent, sewing bags, digging a "dugout" in the snow. Temperature - minus 38, 34, 36X. We will sleep in a "dugout" without a stove.
We have overcome the first stress caused by the fire. The hot fire helped to warm up, and to cut and sew sleeping bags in a new way, so that from two single-seat sleeping bags one three-seat bag turned out. They worked together and harmoniously: some supported the fire, others ripped open bags, others sewed them together. But the most important decision was made by all together - to continue the campaign by all means. Instead of a tent, they decided to tear off a trench in the snow to the ground, expand it below to the size of human height, cover the bottom with coniferous spruce branches, cover the top with skis laid across the trench, throw a canvas of a burnt tent over the skis, and lay large bricks cut from the snow on top. So we got a snow hut, the entrance to which was curtained with one of the released blankets, while the other three were used for bedding for two guys, sleeping between two 3-person sleeping bags. Simple and reliable. We enter the hut bent over, through the hole,straight from the round hole dug under the fire. The design turned out to be successful, downright ingenious. But it required a huge daily work from all team members. Everyone worked hard until the snow house was completed, and only then sat peacefully around the fire in anticipation of hot food. On the same day, a non-scheduled day, they tried out a new house. It was called differently: "hut" or "dugout". Here are laconic entries from Vitya's diary:
“-February 5, 1959. We slept through the night wonderfully. They lay down in threes in a double bag, and those on duty under a blanket in the middle. We got up at 8:00 and left at 10:00. It warmed up to minus 23°С. We step to the Saber, it is already close. In the evening they approached the very border of the forest and dug a "dugout". Watched the northern lights. True, there were clouds in the north, and it was hard to see him. But individual flashes in the form of searchlight beams are clearly visible. They rise very high.
February 6 , 1959 We got up at 6.00. Climbing today. There were crackers, loin and cocoa. At 9.00 we went to the top. They left their skis at the foot and began to climb to the top along the western buttress. The top is hidden in the clouds. The spectacle is wonderful. We have risen above the clouds, they lie in a dense veil below us. The sun warms just like in spring, even warm. At about 15.00 we climbed the buttress to the main ridge. But if the whole team moves to the top, then the bright part of the day will not be enough to return. Movement in bundles slows down the ascent. We make a decision: three go up, the rest go down.
Three lucky ones went to the top, and we are sitting on a ledge, freezing, writing diaries. Watching a wonderful sunset. It is red, flattened, before our eyes descended beyond the horizon at 1 7.30. At this time, three reached the summit, and five of us began to descend along the buttress to the camp along the old tracks. The first in the world and in the USSR winter conquerors of Mount Saber: S. Sogrin, V. Plyshevsky, B. Martyushev descended already in the dark
Topic: Question about the den (Read 10989 times)
