I would suspect the context of the fetal position is how we may see ourselves in our beds when cold or camping . If the Dyatlov hikers were found in the tent , under blankets in a fetal position, then it could be argued that they died from hypothermia and extreme cold whilst trying to wait .
I am not sure how many cases of hypothermia involve finding people sitting waiting for help from the cold , getting caught out and becoming hypothermic without realising the danger and those who know they will become hypothermic and must take action are different scenarios.
As much as I've researched , people don't instantly freeze from the cold and they don't just dig a hole and curl up. It's a process that happens at different time intervals in different conditions. Hypothermia in water will be different to those on a snowy mountain etc.
What we do know is people will start to become clumsy, finger movement will reduce and in cold conditions limbs will freeze whilst you are still alive . There are many examples of people being found in the body positions of the hikers , alive and dead..
The three going up the slope are in body positions that tend to suggest they were still functioning and trying to move ( we can argue up hill or down hill) . If their knee and elbow joints weren't already stiff and numb I would suspect the feet, ankles and hands to be suffering plus their core temperature.
As Ive mentioned before in the UK incident it states the problem with limbs freezing and yet a determined female fought and crawled in vain to try and get help for her students, they had already spent the night on the mountain in a snow den.
...."Edging closer and without reference points in the whiteout, they realised that they had got very close to a person on her hands and knees. Davidson was still up on the plateau and trying to crawl for help. Two crew were unloaded 64 metres (70 yd) away, the closest they could manage. Then, they reached the casualty but could not carry her to the helicopter because her legs were locked in a kneeling position. The helicopter could get no closer because when it applied power, the blowing snow obliterated vision and so one of the crew jumped out to lead it in the right direction by using the winch wire. There was no sign of anyone else from Davidson's group. Davidson was taken by helicopter to Aviemore, where she was met by ambulance. She was in the advanced stages of hypothermia and her hands were frozen solid, but although she was confused and barely able to speak, she managed to let her rescuers know that the rest of the party was close to where she had been rescued.[50] She could say only the words "Burn – lochan – buried" to rescuer Brian Hall, but that gave sufficient clues.[51]"....
I would suspect if the teacher had not been rescued, her body pose would be similar to Zinas when found later. If it tells anything , the three on the slope didn't just lie down because it was cold and cuddle up into a ball, they were fighting something, it would look like this fight was against the cold .They may have fell and stumbled several times , using frozen fists to break their fall, that is, if their dulled reactions and frozen joints could react fast enough by the last moments.
The conditions , environment and obstacles over perhaps a 12 hour period allow for the majority of injuries. The body positions are consistent with a fight for survival in cold conditions . For me , only the fractured ribs and skull fracture are out with of what I would expect to find.
Topic: Positions of bodies (Read 11409 times)
