A gale force wind

[GlennM]

According to the case files, there were two attempts to  make Ortoten. Whatever progress was made on the 31st of January was lost when the group retreated back to the Auspya ridge. To me, this suggests they were beaten back by wind and snow too strong to work against. When they set out the next day, there must have been an agreement that so long as they could proceed, they would. Their final camp marks a point at which the snow and wind prevented progress. They then had to pitch their tent in those conditions.

If they were making a speed run to Ortoten, then they would not bring extra wood. I wonder if their rigging was inherently inadequate. I wonder if there was a wind direction shift after the tent was pitched. I wonder if they labored to construct a berm to shield the tent from the worst of the weather. I wonder if any of them were more fully dressed than others because they had sentry  duty. I wonder if sentry  duty was worked in shifts. How much trouble would it be to get clothed up while others tried to sleep.  The only reason to have a guard on such a forlorn slope is to attend to a blow down, in which case all hands on deck anyway.

[SURI]

Once you understand why they left the tent, you won’t be asking these questions. A tent on a desolate mountain slope without wood and water was a prepared trap and a prelude to what was to come.

[Senior Maldonado]

SURI, probably it is high time to continue your story. We are all waiting.
What had happened before two Yuris statred to drag (unconscious) Igor downhill?

[GlennM]

My point is less about  why they left their shelter and more about why they did not get further. In the simplest sense, I contend they didn't go further because they couldn't. Weather stopped them. I believe Suri would argue for human interference. In my defense, I think there was enough time to stop, level a base, lay skis, rig the tent and stake it down.  There is no definitive evidence to show any injuries that would prevent forward progress to Ortoten, nor justify a walk to the cedar. In essence, I contend they went as far as they could, hunkered down and intended to proceed the following day. Going back to my previous thought, an injured hiker could remain at the tent while others moved on to Ortoten if they were single minded in their quest. There were no broken legs or arms. No splints.

I think the conspiracy advocates would argue that some feigned condition or personal threat halted the expedition. This is unsatisfactory for me because of two reasons. First, if the object it death, you don't let your victims  make camp. Second, the malefactor(s) must have an exit plan. No evidence of mutual combat exists that can not be better explained by natural causes.

[SURI]

SURI, probably it is high time to continue your story. We are all waiting.
What had happened before two Yuris statred to drag (unconscious) Igor downhill?

And here I thought it wasn't that hard to figure out.

You were quite close. If you had left out the rockets and listened more to Ivanov, you could have taken it all the way to the end.

Even the abandonment of the tent is just a drop in the ocean of the whole story. There is not only the scene we see, but the background as well.

For example, you correctly recognized that something is wrong with the case files. And also, that the 4 in the ravine died last.

[SURI]

I don’t even know if such a case has any parallel in the world. I would call it a tragicomedy. The case is difficult to understand, but for Ivanov, it was routine – he had the irrefutable evidence handed to him on a silver platter.

[Senior Maldonado]

My point is less about  why they left their shelter and more about why they did not get further. In the simplest sense, I contend they didn't go further because they couldn't. Weather stopped them. I believe Suri would argue for human interference. In my defense, I think there was enough time to stop, level a base, lay skis, rig the tent and stake it down.  There is no definitive evidence to show any injuries that would prevent forward progress to Ortoten, nor justify a walk to the cedar. In essence, I contend they went as far as they could, hunkered down and intended to proceed the following day. Going back to my previous thought, an injured hiker could remain at the tent while others moved on to Ortoten if they were single minded in their quest. There were no broken legs or arms. No splints.

I am fully with you regarding these considerations. As Dyatlov's aim was Otorten's peak, he had to climb the ridge sooner or later. One option was to approach Otorten as close as possible moving through deep snow of the Lozva valley. This provides easy camping but hard walk. Alternative option was to climb the ridge near 1079 and then have an easy walk to Otorten avoiding to lose hight. This provides easy walk but hard camping. Dyatlov had selected the 2nd option. He attempted the climb on January 31st, but it became clear that fully equipped group could not manage that. So Dyatlov decided to lose one day to offload part of the eqippment to a cache and to give rest to the team. Next day, February 1st, the group had no problem to climb and set up a camp to proceed next day to Otorten and back.

[GlennM]

Senior M, we are agreed on the path and the rationale for the path. The follow up idea is why they got as far as they did. Their climb to the ridge was not particularly easy, as the diary hints. As a group they were equal to the hardship. The diaries suggest that for the most part, all were in good spirits,  Lyuda excepted. Photos shows more smiles than frowns.

I believe that while pitching the tent was a slower and more deliberate activity, knifing out of it was quite the opposite. Only some event that was both rapid and unanticipated would justify such action. This makes me lean toward natural events, perferably my oft repeated slab slip idea, but the detonation of a rocket or a meteoric bolide would also be sufficiently sudden. None of them have left indisputable evidence. There is little point in running away from any of them. In fact, the tracks do not support running from the tent. I think whereas a blast from a man made or meteoric object is oover and done in a flash, a mound of snow is going to take time to attend to. I would argue that if the group decided to get warm, get rest and come back in the day time to clear up the mess, it would be reasonable...if the weather cooperated.
Finally, because Ivanov changed his point of view and went to an extreme later on, I have discounted his credibility. For me, he knew as much or little as anyone else. What he could do was gain notoriety and money from spinning the deaths of the hikers into something that sells pulp magazines.

[SURI]

Finally, because Ivanov changed his point of view and went to an extreme later on, I have discounted his credibility. For me, he knew as much or little as anyone else. What he could do was gain notoriety and money from spinning the deaths of the hikers into something that sells pulp magazines.

Personally, I would be far more concerned about the unsigned decision to open the case, or the illegitimate and moreover incriminating document from February 6th. And not just those.

[GlennM]

So again. I suppose the group went as far as they could and camped. They could have been stopped by the time of day, or the weather. Either way, they pitched their tent and organized the interior contents in a way that speaks to an unhurried settling in for the night. The next salient fact is the tent was cut from within. Various ideas have been proposed from noxious animals, a chemical fire and even tainted food. Bad critters and bad food are not likely reasons to cut up a winter shelter. A chemical fire is going to leave scorch and chemical residue. None was described. However, a crushed tent poses an immediate suffocation hazard. Wemalso jave pictorial evidemce of broken supoort poles.So, why not go out the front flap?  I can only imagine it was a hectic time inside and I do not rule out that someone could have gone out that way. I would if I could. Nine however, not so much. I am imagining several of them flattened by the weight of snow. Something I am not sure about is whether they equippedmwith kerosene lamps. We know they used flashlights and oil lamps would be cumbersome. My reasoning is if theynhad the lamps, they would use them after dark. A crushed lamp is going to spill oil, scatter glass and perhaps cause a fire.

We are told that some of the tent contents were scattered near the tent. I think a strong wind might do that. Raised footprints on the way to the forest are a product of scouring. Farther down, snow swept over the trail and obscured the prints. Snow does not move itself.  All in all, it seems that they camped at the end of a short hike owing to conditions of time ofmday and weather. Weather brought down their tent and weather induced their retreat to the forest. It is the easiest and most direct explanation for their shifting into a potential emergency situation that eventually deteriorated completely.

[Ziljoe]

I think they just ran out of time on the 31st . When I say that , I mean they travelled as far as they could for the day and ended up in an unsuitable location to build their camp and labaz for that night.

There's nothing unusual about that , they can't go forward to set up their camp because they have the climb up to boot rock or over the now famous dyatlov pass , and then down into the forest again. That's too long ,as Dyatlov notes in his diary . They just return a few hundred meters to get a sheltered place with deep snow.

I'm still perplexed by the short distance travelled the following day though. I cannot see how the time was spent building a labaz ?. It was a ground store not a construction in the trees , there's 9 of them, so I can't see this taking more than an hour on top of their normal duties of packing the tent.

From the last campsite to the tent location on the slope doesn't seem to add up on the distance travelled or rather, they distance the could or should  have travelled on the 1st .

An injury is a possibility, one of them had a sprain bandage around their ankle , perhaps just enough to change the plan and camp where they did.

I don't think a storm would have stopped the hike at that point, it would be easier to get shelter in the tree line than try to pitch the tent in a storm . Dyatlov had already experienced this on another hike when he got caught in a storm. To walk to the forest would have been quicker than digging a trench and erecting the tent .

The distance travelled on that day is incredibly short though and is worth consideration as to why . I've tried to interpret the last diary entry as the day and then night camping on 1079, that they actually went further north than the last tent location then returned south thinking they were in a slightly different location. It doesn't quite work because of the labaz but works for the distance traveled.

[SURI]

To understand this, you need to shift your perspective and look at it from a different angle. That is the only way everything will fall into place – the detour from the route, the hidden cache in the snow, the short distance, and the tent on the bare slope.

[Ziljoe]

To understand this, you need to shift your perspective and look at it from a different angle. That is the only way everything will fall into place – the detour from the route, the hidden cache in the snow, the short distance, and the tent on the bare slope.

Here's my problem suri , nothing is out of place. What detour from the route are you talking about and what hidden cache in the snow?

[SURI]

As far as I know, the labaz was not found right away, even though it was just a short distance from the campsite. I would call it a hidden cache in the snow rather than a standard labaz.

Also, as stated in the Resolution to Terminate the Case "the group deviated 500–600 meters to the left and, instead of crossing the pass as planned, ascended the eastern slope of Mountain 1079."

All four points are highly unusual – from the detour and the hidden cache, to the short distance traveled and pitching the tent on a bare slope. None of this happened by chance; someone wanted it exactly like this. But it wasn't Dyatlov.

Maslennikov
"In my opinion, if Dyatlov knew that this is the slope of the main ridge he wouldn't have stayed the night in this place. He was a very careful man, and experienced hiker."