My theory and it is pretty simple.

[eurocentric]

Hello world!  New here but have been following this off and on for about 3 years.  Recently here in America there was an exploration documentary on TV that was done in 2019 retracing the tracks and going to Dyatlov pass.  It re-ignited the curiosity in me to look deeper into this as I have a lot of free time on my hands now.  As a little background, I have done a lot of digital forensic work on retrieving data and building a timeline of deceased individuals in cases of suicide vs murder here in the states and have a pretty good track record.

Here is my theory with the data I have observed so far.  It is subject to change based on conversation and other pieces of data that might disconnect my theory from the truth that I have not read.
I think we can all agree the tent is the epic center of whatever triggered the events that followed.  If we look at the last photos taken of them preparing a place to pitch the tent, we can see that the weather conditions have deteriorated even more than in the previous pictures taken in the morning.  What else does the picture tell us? 

https://dyatlovpass.com/resources/340/gallery/Unknown-origin-Dyatlov-photos-11.jpg

There are only 4 people, which includes the person taking the picture working on the site.  Where are the other 5 people?   I think they were down in the ravine, making their snow cave as a backup plan if anything went wrong with their cold camp and if they were preparing a backup plan a fire would be part of it.  I believe the wood that was sawed off the tree was in fact done so but not in the middle of the night during a snow and violent windstorm but earlier in the afternoon.   That is why there are no saws found there.  They took them back to the camp after they completed their task.   Note also that the ravine is near a precious resource.  Water.  The tree line near the cache site they made does not appear to have water and appears to be harder trek than where they went into the ravine / tree line.  It is also closer to the planned route as well.

 I think we are concentrating too much on the fact that “someone” cut the tent.  I know what the forensics say in 1959 but there are no artifacts to support this conclusion I have found. From the data I read that the tent was two tents stitched together.   The tent was in disrepair, and they even wrote about having to keep it patched up.  I believe a very powerful katabatic windstorm (60-80MPH winds or more) came up on them evening, middle of the night, who knows but at some point, hurricane windstorm tore their dilapidated tent to the point they had to exit.    They had their backup plan, but they didn’t expect the storm and conditions they currently found themselves in.  It was far worse than they could imagine.

The hikers march single file down the tree line to fall back on their backup plan.  They walked like they knew where they were going in my opinion.   They get to the tree line and build a fire, and they go through the wood they had gathered rather quickly but it is simply not enough heat because of the extreme cold and wind.  I believe the rest of the group retreated to the snow cave and came out to check on their friends Doroshenko and Krivonischenko who were trying to keep the fire going and found them dead as they had been exposed to the elements more than the rest of the group.  They took their clothes.  These were the first people to die, I think.

While getting back into the snow cave it collapses, trapping 4 of the remaining 7 hikers.  Dyatlov, Komogorova and slobin witness this.  The campfire is a failure, the snow cave is a failure, and the only thing left to do is go back to the tent, get a shovel and possibly save their friends.  It would be the only reason in my opinion to return to the tent and not stay in the safety of the forest.  Hypothermia starts to sit in, and they don’t really realize how bad off they really are.

I think Slobodin skull fracture is the result of freezing out in the open with his neck possibly exposed.  He could also have fallen while walking back up to the tent from the ravine.  It is the only piece that looks like it could spin another theory, but I think those two scenarios are the cause for his injury.
It might just be that simple.

The other theories that have been mentioned I do not see the data to bring myself to those conclusions.  I do not see the data that supports.
1-   A missile test or some kind of radiation experiment. -  The whole place and everyone would send a Geiger counter off the charts.  The reason why radiation showed up on clothing and the explanation why the small reading is present makes perfect sense.  No craters or data showing anything explosive
2-   Humans forced them out of the tent.  - There is simply no evidence of any of this. With the current weather conditions that we know to have existed, no other humans were standing out in the middle of nowhere as they would be subject to freeze to death as well.
3-   Animals. – Again, there is no evidence to support this.  In the current weather conditions of the camp the animals were down in the forest.  The same place where the hikers were headed for the same reason.  Cover.
4-   Yeti, UFO, Ball lighting, Time Portal, poisonous gases. – The data just is not there to support any of these things no matter how outside of the box thinking is applied.  The data is simply just not there to make those conclusions.
5-   A fight or disagreement among the group. – I do not see the data to make that conclusion.  Fighting people don’t all walk down the mountain together and there would be physical evidence of clothes, being ripped or blood stained.





J Proxy
Peace on earth, goodwill towards men.

Interesting theory, I especially liked the idea of them marching off in a line to a predetermined destination, with a sense of purpose, and this would strengthen the contention they left without survival aids because they had an alternative site of heat and shelter waiting.

However, some of the details you have built your theory on are shaky...

There were no shovels on the hike, they used skis, poles and presumably gloved hands for any snowy excavations.

A snow den for 9 people would be a considerable task, and much more prone to collapse. Perhaps they made more than one, and during the search two large excavations appear to have been made, but only one 'den' is photographed, with clothing scraps and branches to line seats for 4 people.

The wood didn't appear to have been sawed off the (cedar) tree, but snapped.

Katabatic wind theory suggests winds crest a mountain ridge and blow downhill, so the uphill side of the tent, which was side-on to the crest, should have been more damaged than the downhill side. There was very little uphill tent damage.

Microscopic analysis revealed the tent had been cut in at least 3 places from the inside. The samples may have been lost but the photographs exist in the case files:

https://dyatlovpass.com/case-files-303-304?rbid=17743