Participants in a recent expedition to the Dyatlov Pass witnessed an avalanche for the first time in 1959 in the area where a group of tourists died. Expedition leader Oleg Demyanenko shared video footage showing the results of the avalanche with socialbites.ca.
“The place is very interesting from a geomorphological point of view. Apparently, it snows there so much that it occasionally rains avalanches. And we got there so well that 15-20 minutes before our arrival a micro avalanche fell and we managed to record the trace of its convergence. Literally half an hour later there was no sign of avalanche because there was a blizzard and we documented all this. Due to the special aerodynamics of the ground, the snow on the funnel flies at great speed, and in this place apparently some sparseness and densely settled, – said Demyanenko.
Participants on one of the Dyatlov Pass excursions in 2021 noticed an unusual dark formation on the slope adjacent to the place where the tourists died, first mistaken for the shadow of a cloud, and then also found in video footage. To find out the nature of the dark spot, another expedition went to the pass in January 2022, which witnessed an avalanche fall about three kilometers from where the tourists died.
The Dyatlov Pass in the Northern Urals between Mount Holatchakhl (1096.7 m) and an unnamed elevation 905 is named after Igor Dyatlov, a student whose group died in these places under unclear circumstances in February 1959. Until now, there was no documentary evidence of the avalanche version.