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On 1. February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers perished in -30° under mysterious, gruesome circumstances in the Ural mountain range, on the slope of Mount Kholat Syakhl, also referred to as "Dead Mountain" or "1079". Three weeks after the incident, their abandoned but strangely intact tent was found, slashed open from the inside. The student hikers fled without proper clothing and boots to a ravine at the base of the mountain, where it seems they didn't die from hypothermia alone, but from traumatic violent injuries and burns. Strange last photographs taken by the hikers and high levels of radiation found on some of their clothes have led to decades of speculation over what really happened. The Dyatlov Pass mystery is one of the most perplexing mysteries in the international history of mountaineering, and probably the most controversial forensic crime case in Russia. But was it murder, KGB conspiracy, a rocket accident coverup or some unknown natural or supernatural force, like the "Gods in Shining Garments" which the local Mansi hunters mention, or the "fireballs" chief inspector Ivanov believed in up to his death? Are there undervalued or misunderstood eye witnesses of the tragedy, or has anyone even had a similar close encounter since, on that mysterious mountain of fire & ice, where compasses deviate more than 30°? This gripping nonfiction documentary discusses and debunks multiple existing theories with the help of professional image analysis, rare video footage, eyewitness reports, previously misinterpreted evidence and Occam-style common sense. Through the help of science, the author unravels the secrets behind the fateful journey to that deadly mountain in the freezing Russian winter, and for the first time ties together all seemingly contradicting puzzle pieces into a big picture. Extensively illustrated with visual material, ranging from recovered film frames to newest amateur footage, the book leads the reader to the spectacular solution of the mystery. Which turns out to be surprisingly close to the initial official conclusion of "unknown compelling force", but far from the better-than-nothing avalanche theory, which has seen an embarrassing renaissance after the 2020 Russian reopening of the case. The author Henning Kuersten studied Computer & Information science at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and Psychology at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. He is owner of a company specialized in software for image analysis. He is also a dedicated mountaineer who has survived a horrific incident on the 4049 meter high Piz Bernina, which, together with his professional experience in Photography and Psychology, has helped him to understand the fate of the Dyatlov group.
