I first heard of the “Dyatlov Incident” as it’s called, from the television show, Expedition Unknown. The strange facts laid out in the two-part episode captivated us. Perhaps because of that show, or perhaps because this past January was the 60th anniversary of the event, but shortly after the show was aired, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar became available on Amazon’s Prime Reading. I immediately downloaded it.
Dead Mountain is presented in the same format as Expedition: Narrative of the hikers’ last days alternate with chapters about the author’s efforts to follow in the footsteps of the hikers to the site where they set up the tent they inexplicably abandoned, and where the bodies were found. However, Eichar’s book provides far more details than Expedition could cover in two episodes. Each page is informative, mysterious, and captivating.
My one complaint is that instead of focusing on theories already presented and debated over the years, Eichar, after admitting his desire to solve the case, dismisses them all in favor of a theory of his own. In the mesmerizing pages of the hikers last day, put together with known facts and scientific speculation, he inserts his theory into the narrative of the hikers’ experience. This is especially unfortunate as a piece of evidence the author did not have, but which was presented by Josh Gates in Expedition Unknown, has come to light. As it turns out, the government was aware of the hikers deaths before the search parties were sent out. It was previously believed that officials were uncertain as to the fate of the hikers until searchers actually found the first of the bodies. If Eichar had had access to that information in 2012 when he embarked on this journey, his conclusion might have differed.
That doesn’t stop Dead Mountain from being a book worthy of reading. It’s loaded with details about the hikers and their journey, many of which cleared up questions we had after watching Expedition Unknown. And now is a good time to read it. On or near the 60th anniversary of the “incident,” the Russian government announced it was reopening the investigation into the death of the hikers. Reading Dead Mountain is a good way to catch up on the case before it is, hopefully, finally solved.
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| Actual Photo of the Dyatlov Party |