Question regarding the route and why they followed Auspiya

[Manti]

Early on the group followed the Lozva river. Then on 29th Jan they started following the Auspiya river. However they were trying to get to the peak Otorten. Lozva's source is closer to Otorten, by following the Auspiya didn't they make their trek unnecessarily hard? After all they had to cross a ridge (at /near the Dyatlov Pass) to get to the Lozva valley again,  so what purpose did following Auspiya serve?


It didn't significantly increase the distance they had to cover but forced them to cross the ridge so more elevation gain & loss, and harder terrain for no apparent reason? Can someone shed some light on this?

[KFinn]

I'm not certain if this answers your question but in Teddy's book, it is mentioned that the group quite possibly veered off on a tributary of the Auspiya that they mistook for a different tributary.  It could also have been that they needed to add extra mileage for it to be category III?  I know that they needed a certain amount of miles and days at a distance from any civilization.  Good question.  I will have to look more into it!!

[Manti]

In the requirements for category 3 there is a certain required mileage (300km total and 100km of that while "overcoming obstacles"), but given that they didn't even submit the route plan it's not clear how this would be evaluated.

But looking at the map more I can see that the problem with the Lozva is that it takes a long detour to the northeast and only then turns west, so following it would have been significantly longer. So going along the Auspiya makes sense up to a certain point. But perhaps not all the way to the pass, it looks like there was an easier crossing back to the Lozva earlier so yes they might have mistook a tributary.

[KFinn]

In the requirements for category 3 there is a certain required mileage (300km total and 100km of that while "overcoming obstacles"), but given that they didn't even submit the route plan it's not clear how this would be evaluated.

But looking at the map more I can see that the problem with the Lozva is that it takes a long detour to the northeast and only then turns west, so following it would have been significantly longer. So going along the Auspiya makes sense up to a certain point. But perhaps not all the way to the pass, it looks like there was an easier crossing back to the Lozva earlier so yes they might have mistook a tributary.

Again,  I don't know if this might have played a part in anything but there were still areas of the river that were not safe to ski on (weak ice with water under,) so they did veer off here and there to find safer trails that followed the general trail but kept them from falling into ice or such things. 

The cat III, give me a sec and I can list the reqs.

[KFinn]

Okay, so for classification III:

"The length and duration of trek was different for different types, the shortest was for ski trek, and the longest for cycling and water trek.

For example, for the third ski category (the one that was planned for the Dyatlov group), it was equal in total length to at least 300 km, of which at least 100 km they had to go with overcoming natural obstacles i.e. steep uphill climbs, steep descents, tracing (making a path in deep snow) ski tracks, moving through a dense forest with undergrowth, moving in a treeless area far from villages, etc.

The total duration of the trip was to be at least 16 days, including in a completely unpopulated area - at least 8 days. This means that the distance to the nearest village should be at least two large daytime crossings - at least 50, 60 km. Moreover, they had to make at least 6 nights completely in winter conditions. This means that they had to fully organize the night with only the set of equipment that they brought with them. The overnight stay in huts, shelters, or abandoned houses should not exceed 10 days out of 16."

This is all from WAB's article, https://dyatlovpass.com/sports-classification.  Excellent info to know!!!

[cennetkusu]

They changed their ways for Lapaz. They had to make the lapse close to the return route, the best place in this was the Mountain of the Dead. Possibly abnormal events started happening on the way back to Lozva! They could not see the danger visually. And they fled from the forest to the clearing. Because they could not see him in the forest. But the unknown coercive Force could also make itself invisible. Probably so they didn't notice. He later became visible as he attacked the tent. And after struggling with him for a while, they realized that the struggle would not work. And they fled into the forest in hopes of living .....

[Teddy]

I'm not certain if this answers your question but in Teddy's book, it is mentioned that the group quite possibly veered off on a tributary of the Auspiya that they mistook for a different tributary.  It could also have been that they needed to add extra mileage for it to be category III?  I know that they needed a certain amount of miles and days at a distance from any civilization.  Good question.  I will have to look more into it!!

Experienced hikers claim that the group might have missed to turn on Auspiya at the right time and continued on Lozva for a while, but they made the turn all right, just a little after the tributary.
They didn't need to add extra millage. Manti is right.
Go on Amazon preview and scroll down to the Route map https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VF5Y5SZ/#reader_B08VF5Y5SZ
We have intentionally clustered some maps at the beginning - check out the Route map.
You can very well see how Lozva makes a big turn which is not on their way to Otorten at all.

[Teddy]

From Chapter 18. "On the ninth day we go to upper Lozva."

However, experienced hikers, who had repeatedly been round there, noticed: "Auspiya is flowing into the Lozva by two spill-streams. Notably, the first, which is downstream, is unnoticed for all practical purposes, since it is very narrow and is falling at a very acute level to the Lozva bed. The second spill-stream is also hardly noticeable, particularly in winter. In the forest administration chart, copied at the Vizhay forestry section, the estuary of the Auspiya River is designated as a single bed. Hence, it cannot be ruled out that the Dyatlov group might have proceeded along the Lozva above the Auspiya estuary, and then reached the Auspiya along one of the foot passes of the Mansi hunters.”
It is difficult not to agree with this. Most probably, the hikers indeed had not noticed the estuary of the Auspiya River, and for some time continued their movement upstream the Lozva River. After 1.5 2 kilometers, the group understood its mistake and turned back. According to the testimony of Anyamov, they were not returning along the Mansi trails, but directly along the river bed of the Lozva River.

[Manti]

Thank you for the information!


It's time for me to read the book now

[sarapuk]

All expeditions face obstacles during a journey. Weather conditions play an important part especially in this part of Siberia. Many factors come into play. The Key point is why they pitched their Tent on an exposed Mountainside when it would have been much better to have pitched it near the Treeline, which is where their last but one pitch was.