Yes, the tent vas cut by 3 attackers on 2 February 1959, around noon or 1 PM.
sarapuk is right, there are not enough clues (or too many clues are missing) to come to an indisputable certainty about the causes of the deaths of the 9 hikers of Dyatlov's group.
sarapuk, who has not appeared since May 19, 2021 (Now July 15, 2021) - worryingly - often included in his comments phrases such as:
« All speculative analysis. Just guesswork. No evidence....»Nevertheless, everyone is free to think that some explanatory hypotheses are more likely than others.
Thus, my favourite explanatory hypothesis is mainly inspired by 3 authors:
Eduard Tumanov https://forum.dyatlovpass.com/index.php?topic=411.0Per Inge Oestmoen https://forum.dyatlovpass.com/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=325Aleks Kandr http://mystery12home.ru/t-ub-gr-dyatlova https://taina.li/forum/index.php?topic=1002.0In summary:
There were 3 mercenary attackers who were ordered by Stalinist (ex) NKVD officers, in charge of guarding of the Gulag camps in the Ivdel region (Ivdellag).
••• 1 February 1959, around 8 p.m.: Surprise attack, the 9 hikers are forced to leave their tents hastily by introduction of suffocating gas or simply by trickery (ruse).
Then hand-to-hand combat in the dark (on the slope of Kholat Syakhl and around the cedar) against the 3 attackers who are armed only with blunt objects.
••• 2 February 1959 around 6 AM: Final victory of the attackers: all 9 hikers are dead or about to be, the bodies of Dubinina and Zolotariov are mutilated.
Then the attackers rest inside the tent and eat the hikers' provisions.
••• 2 February 1959 around 1 PM: the 3 attackers
first cut the tent canvas and partially destroy the tent, then they set off in the direction of North-2.
••• 4 February 1959: As soon as they arrive in Vizhay, the 3 attackers are denounced by the ex-NKVD officer(s) (clients, commanders..) and are therefore arrested by the KGB.
Between 2 February 1959 and the arrival of the rescuers on 26 February, the wind erased almost all traces and there was no staging on the Kholat Syakhl slope.