The Dyatlov Pass incident has reemerged as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the world.  On January 23, 1959, ten hikers set out on an expedition to Otorten Mountain in the Norther Ural Mountain range. One member of the group turned back and the remaining nine met their deaths at the Kholat Syakhl (Dead Mountain) under mysterious circumstances.  Several theories have been put forth to explain what happened on the night of February 1-2, 1959, but each explanation seems to cast more doubt over the official explanation.   There is a strong possibility that we may never know the truth about the incident but we do have a fairly accurate picture of the hiker’s last trip up until their deaths. Author Keith McCloskey has written several books and takes on the Dyatlov Pass in this investigative account of the mystery that puzzled investigators and sent chills down the spines of those who have studied the case.

While researching the book, McCloskey visited the Ural region and reviewed old case files and reports from other strange occurrences in the Ural region.  There is no “smoking gun” here but where the book excels is the exploration of the theories that exists about their final moments.  He leaves nothing to chance and considers everything in the effort to put together the most accurate picture of what really happened. And the result is a good look at the incident that is as equally well-researched and written as Donnie Eichar’s Dead Mountain: The Untold Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident , released in October, 2013. Eichar also traveled to the former Soviet Union, befriending Yuri Kuntsevich, the head of the Dyatlov Foundation.   Eichar does not present a “smoking gun” either but touches more on the personal side of the hikers. In fact, he met with Igor Dyatlov’s younger and only surviving sister and spoke to the tenth hiker, Yuri Yudin in person.  Sadly, as McCloskey reports, Yudin died on April 27, 2013 and his final resting place is with his old friends.

Conspiracy theorist will be tempted to get caught up in the boundless theories that persist about the case. But McCloskey does a good job of separating actual possibilities from ideas that are nothing short of ridiculous.   He addresses the concept of infrasound and one story in particular stands out,  the “revelation” by Shimon Davidenko, who claims to have been the tenth hiker in the group.   He claimed other things as well but it is highly unlikely that he is being completely truthful as the book reveals.  When thinking about the incident, the word strange comes to mind quickly but is actually an understatement.  Many bizarre events took place following the deaths of the hikers that have never been fully explained. And with many of the individuals involved in the search and subsequent investigation now being deceased, many of their beliefs and possible secrets are gone forever.  Lead investigator Lev Ivanov, went to his grave convinced of a paranormal event.  Was he correct or suffering from an overactive imagination? Perhaps we will never know. McCloskey and Eichar have done a great service to the memory of the hikers in preserving their memories through these two excellent books on a real life haunting. And as time goes on, I believe that the case will draw more interest and possibly result in classified Soviet files being released at some point.  If you love a good mystery and have an interest in Soviet history, this is a great read to add to your library.

ISBN-10: 0752491482
ISBN-13: 978-0752491486