Dyatlov Pass

I've been debating for a while how I want to approach topics like this (yes, that's the excuse I'm sticking with for not updating this blog in so long). You see, I don't want to get into conspiracy theories and alien abductions. For the record, I believe the universe is too big for us to be the only life in it, however, as Stephen Hawking said - we shouldn't want to draw their attention to us. There. Hopefully, that's the only mention of aliens you'll ever see on my blog.

Anyway. This story caught my fascination. Why, you may ask? Well, I'll tell you. Nine hikers set off in the Ural Mountains in late January 1959. Seven men and two women. They got a little lost and decided to make camp and wait till the weather was better. The night of February 2, they cut their way out of the tent and all nine took off. Some were wearing only their underwater in temperatures well below zero.

When a search party was launched they followed the footsteps to the edge of the woods and found two bodies, three more were found on the trail back to the camp. They died of hypothermia. The other four, however, died of massive trauma. One had a crushed skull, two had chest fractures and one was missing her tongue. There was no exteral damage to the bodies. No footprints from anyone else and no signs of fighting. Small amounts of radiation were found on some strips of clothing. An investigation was done and the records were sealed by the Russian government. When the documents were opened in 1990, text was missing as were pieces of evidence.

So, if I don't like conspiracy theories why I am posting this? Because there's no logical explanation. Could this be a hoax? Sure, it could. However, doesn't something about this stir your imagination a little? As a writer, it our job to come up with a plausible idea. Tell me you aren't just a little disturbed by this or that your mind isn't racing to fill in the blanks of the story. I've been thinking about this ever since I read about it. I've attached two links if you're interested in reading more.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/02/27/notes022708.DTL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_pass_accident

For the skeptics, here's a link:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4108