They could NOT have been crushed by snow!

[Dona]

The entrance to the snow cave with all the sticks/wood was dug at the slope edge.. The bodies were found 30-40 feet beyond the  slope so, there was no snow there to  crush them.. They were too far away..

[Игорь Б.]

The entrance to the snow cave was at the ledge. And the bodies were near the ledge:
http://1723.ru/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=5133&view=findpost&p=88077
http://1723.ru/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=5133&view=findpost&p=62991

[Dona]

[Ziljoe]

Interesting picture. Now I'm more confused. Where is the den in relation to where the bodies were found?

[Dona]

The snow over top the bodies accumulated  after..

[Dona]

30+ feet away..

[Dona]

The bodies and the snow cave would have been at the same level at the time..

[Dona]

[Ziljoe]

This is interesting Dona. I wasn't aware there was a snow cave. I thought there was just a den that had no roof with sticks on the ground.

Do you have a link for more information on the snow cave. I feel stupid now.

[Dona]

Either way.... They were too far away

[Dona]

WE know they  dug a snow cave based on the condition of their hands.. The people in the ravine had no such injuries..

[Игорь Б.]

R - This is not the entrance to the snow shelter. This is a pit in the snow, dug by searchers. It was used as a "refrigerator" for corpses waiting for the helicopter.
It was there that the photographs of the corpses were taken from above.

The entrance was where Dubinina's body was found.

[Dona]

30 feet from the sticks...

[Dona]

[Dona]

R - This is not the entrance to the snow shelter. This is a pit in the snow, dug by searchers. It was used as a "refrigerator" for corpses waiting for the helicopter.
It was there that the photographs of the corpses were taken from above.

The entrance was where Dubinina's body was found.

This  is where they found the bodies

[sarapuk]

This is interesting Dona. I wasn't aware there was a snow cave. I thought there was just a den that had no roof with sticks on the ground.

Do you have a link for more information on the snow cave. I feel stupid now.

I dont know how a Snow Cave crept into this Dyatlov Mystery. We have always been under the impression that there was or may have been a Snow Den.

[Dona]

This is interesting Dona. I wasn't aware there was a snow cave. I thought there was just a den that had no roof with sticks on the ground.

Do you have a link for more information on the snow cave. I feel stupid now.

I dont know how a Snow Cave crept into this Dyatlov Mystery. We have always been under the impression that there was or may have been a Snow Den.

Why would you think they wouldnt have built a shelter? Its always the first thing you do

[Dona]

Igors team was very bruised and battered, abrasions, cuts and scrapes..head to toe. They were doing something

[Ziljoe]

This is interesting Dona. I wasn't aware there was a snow cave. I thought there was just a den that had no roof with sticks on the ground.

Do you have a link for more information on the snow cave. I feel stupid now.

I dont know how a Snow Cave crept into this Dyatlov Mystery. We have always been under the impression that there was or may have been a Snow Den.

I'm not sure sarapuk . May be confusion over the den. Also the potential of them using a snowdrift/ overhang for where the bodies were found.

Dona, the snow den I think was what was known to exist. That's the the space where clothes on top of sticks were found. The brushing on the hands could have come from making that and getting the sticks , chopping of trees etc.

[Dona]

Thats the snow cave..

[sarapuk]

This is interesting Dona. I wasn't aware there was a snow cave. I thought there was just a den that had no roof with sticks on the ground.

Do you have a link for more information on the snow cave. I feel stupid now.

I dont know how a Snow Cave crept into this Dyatlov Mystery. We have always been under the impression that there was or may have been a Snow Den.

Why would you think they wouldnt have built a shelter? Its always the first thing you do

They had a shelter, they had a Tent that they abandoned. They walk a mile, they are not properly dressed or equipped to be outside in Temperatures of at least minus 20 degrees Centigrade. They have suffered injuries some of which are life threatening and probably kill some of them if not all of them. They may well have attempted to survive by some sort of Snow Den, but we can not be sure. It would have almost certainly been a very desperate attempt doomed to failure.

[Dona]

Fail? What??? Why would you say that?

[Dona]

"A properly made snow cave can be 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer inside, even when outside temperatures are −40 °C (−40 °F)."

[Dona]

These people should not have died.. This was survivable..They only had  few hours  till sunrise.. And with their experience,   it should have just been a bad night..

[Ziljoe]

Thats the snow cave..

What was the snow cave? I think the den was a different thing in this instance, I could be wrong.my interpretation is a three sided area, maybe with a roof of branches.  A cave is the ideal thing in their plight.

What do you think happened Dona, From the exit of the tent and their deaths?

[Dona]

Yeah, might be a terminology issues den/cave

I dont have a theory yet but, at this point, I would say others were involved..

[Manti]

In hypothermia cases there is something called "terminal burrowing behaviour"...


I don't know if that's relevant here but in the final stages, mental changes occur and people act almost unconsciously and try to dig themselves in... I can imagine them crawling out from a collapsed den and perhaps trying to "burrow" where it's warmest which will be near the stream.. still terribly cold but flowing water at 1C+ will be warm compared to probably -30C air...

When you say it was survivable I have to disagree... for example they had nothing to drink. That is not survivable for very long. Yes there was a stream but drinking cold water accelerates heat loss.. in these conditions if you don't have something warm to drink you can't live longer than a few days.

[Ziljoe]

In hypothermia cases there is something called "terminal burrowing behaviour"...


I don't know if that's relevant here but in the final stages, mental changes occur and people act almost unconsciously and try to dig themselves in... I can imagine them crawling out from a collapsed den and perhaps trying to "burrow" where it's warmest which will be near the stream.. still terribly cold but flowing water at 1C+ will be warm compared to probably -30C air...

When you say it was survivable I have to disagree... for example they had nothing to drink. That is not survivable for very long. Yes there was a stream but drinking cold water accelerates heat loss.. in these conditions if you don't have something warm to drink you can't live longer than a few days.

I agree Manti. There are indications that two on the slope show signs of burrowing behaviour.

I'm still for them having moved into a natural snow shelter and then it collapsing on top of them.

[Dona]

Anything is possible but...... That would mean they made  2 snow caves and they both collapsed.

[Ziljoe]

Anything is possible but...... That would mean they made  2 snow caves and they both collapsed.

That's True. I guess we are all trying to work it out. But the first place found with the flooring of clothes and branches didn't seem be a cave. We don't know what it was other than it had flooring and no bodies were found there.

The ravine 4 were found under the snow in what was a stream in the ravine. It might have been frozen at ground level, with the natural over hang of the snow drift. Call it a cave or shelter or whatever.

Other theories are they were put there on purpose having sustained injuries by, gun butts, Bigfoot, KGB , aliens etc.

Or.... They went in to a space formed by the snow. Maybe dug it out a little, chipping away at the edges. Lay down for body heat and shared jackets for warmth.

Then the roof collapsed. It would be a large instant mass falling that could explain the injuries. If the ground was hard Beneath them (not more snow) it could explain the rib fractures , neck deformation etc.

I know it's frustrating.....but it's reasonable possibility and fits without too much complication.

If they weren't crushed by snow then I don't know of another suggestion. Others might.