Mystery of the Dyatlov group death. Евгений Буянов

from Yarovoy’s scratch. Since 1979 he had been a member of the USSR Union of writers, he was also a member of a board in Sverdlovsk regional writers’ organization. On August 7th, 1980 he was lost in the car accident in Dagestan, together with his wife Svetlana Leonidovna, a teacher of Journalism faculty in Ural University. Their son Nikita Yurievitch Yarovoy suffered a serious craniocerebral injury. Yuri Yarovoy and his wife were buried in Dagestan village Kochubei. In this village there is a monument made and transported at the expense of family’s friends. Yarovoy had published his works since 1959: his first novella «Down Volga river» was published in the newspaper «Let’s take over!». His first book «The difficulties of highest degree» came out in 1966 in Sverdlovsk and was based on the story about Dyatlov’s group death and the searching operation (in 1971 the book was published in Perm). The first science fiction short novel «A crystal house» was published in 1978 in the yearbook «Science fiction». Yuri Yarovoy has written novels, novellas, short and feature stories, science fiction stories. In 1986 his novella «A special case» was scenarized and filmed by Odessa film studio, a film «Wingspread». The science fiction works include: «Snow smell» (novella), «A crystal house» (short story), «Green blood» (novella), «A town for a present» (novella), «Your passion» (novella). Popular scientific and fiction works include: «No wrath and passion» (novella), «Varka’s pit» (short story). «Helicopter pilots» (short story), «The difficulties of highest degree» (novella), «A house built on dogs’ bones» (short story), «A road accident» (novella), «Steep banks» (short story), «A reindeer stone» (short stories), «A special case» (novella), «Reporting from the Training Centre», «Pankratov’s heart» (short story), «Tagil metals», «Coloured eyes of the earth».

      After reading Matveeva’s book I was overcome with a desire to investigate a cause of the accident in order to prevent similar cases in the future. The book of Yarovoy encouraged us to begin an investigation of this accident. I also had an experience in expeditions, rescuing operations in mountains and in destroyed Leninakan in 1988. I also investigated several accidents and I still have pain for the lost companions from my last mountain tours. In 1990 on Elbrus a group of 5 tourists was died from cold. Among them there were my companions Sergey Levin and Sergey Farbstein. Being skilled tourists they couldn’t escape «cold death» that is a bit similar to Dyatlov's accident. Seven years of thoughts and studying documents made me understand its reasons and facts. But it was impossible to answer only one question. I can’t say whether I was also lost together with them in that accident or not. There is no answer because such serious initial changes in group structure bring us back to initial uncertainty of the situation as a whole.

      Matveeva's book gave me a large volume of documentary materials concerning Dyatlov's accident and I was able to begin my research based on them. Later I have found many facts on the Internet, in June 2007 I obtained a part of the closed criminal case over investigation of Dyatlov’s group accident and according to reports of evidence and results of examinations I specified with the experts the facts of the accident. I tried to receive an access to the file of «closed criminal case over tourists death near mountain Otorten, Ivdel, Sverdlovsk region». For this purpose at the beginning of August 2008 I sent to prosecutor’s office of Sverdlovsk region a letter of inquiry asking to give me an access to the case. The letter also contained the first printed edition of this book. The letter was declined as happened earlier with other visitors’ inquiries including relatives of victims. But a year later in October 2009 suddenly a prosecutor office gave me permission: a first deputy prosecutor of Sverdlovsk region V.P. Vekshin has read my book and ordered to give me an access to the case. In November 2009 I managed to obtain prosecutor's office permit, to study the whole case in the archives of prosecutor's office of Sverdlovsk region and to copy missing files of volume 1 of the case for the analysis. It turned out that visitors could review only a copy of the case but I have also seen an original of Volume 1. In February 2010 I was able to study and copy the original of volume 2 of the case after what I became the owner of a complete copy of the case. I found that the case was kept by the prosecutor’s office in full. In comparison with the original a copy of Volume 1 failed several odd-sized sheets with schemes on pages 76–80. A copy of Volume 2 differs from the original in that the copy fails 70 sheets of secondary documents: first of all, notices confirming receipt of several belongings of Dyatlov’s group by their relatives and some photos of searching operation. Besides two volumes of the case there are 13 envelopes with photos of searching operation and their legends which were kept in the archives of Sverdlovsk region separately from the case. The sheets in the envelopes are numbered. I have studied all these documents; I had all photos except several unimportant pictures of the upper reaches of the Auspia. But I handed a written warranty over the prosecutor’s office that I shall not use the documents for commercial purposes and shall not cause moral and material damage to the victims’ families.

      In the process of the accident analysis I had to meet a number of unclear facts, explanation of which involved experts with unique knowledges. First of all, for verifying conclusions we invited a skilled skier (and a "mountaineer ") Valentin Nekrasov: master of sports, the USSR champion and medalist in camping tours of various complexity and for 28 years he has been occupying the position as chairman of the ski commission of Leningrad and St. Petersburg Federation of tourism. He became the first strict «examiner» of our version. Without his approval I wouldn't be so confident in conclusions: it was not only «mine» conclusions but «ours». The conclusions of Axelrod, Popov, Nazarov, Buyanov, Nekrasov who definitely pointed to «avalanche» as a «trigger mechanism» of Dyatlov's accident. But it was still necessary to find out what kind of avalanche it was, why and what happened, in details.

      Slobtsov B. E., master of sports in climbing, joined our investigation in September 2006. He and his friends Sharavin and Brusnitsin helped to reconstruct the events of the accident. With time he has understood and accepted our version. If to evaluate his real contribution to the book, he is its co-author. Though, all experts who really helped us in an investigation can be called «co-authors» in certain issues.

      Initially we looked at all «versions» of Dyatlov’s accident. But we rejected all versions which could not be proved by reliable facts. In order to verify versions we were looking for checked facts, clarified conditions of camping tours and rescue operation events. As well as we analyzed the actions of the team in an emergency. We saw that nature of injuries of Dyatlov’s group definitely indicated their avalanche origin. But we also checked carefully other possibilities of course of events according to the conclusions of the experts. While we work creatively trying to build and describe a scene of events we had also to destroy all doubtful facts and versions.

      It is necessary to understand that all publications and films which contain numbers of versions of the tragedy don't answer questions. A complex investigation leads only to one version of the tragedy which shows the most objective scene of events. An objective scene of events doesn't allow any ambiguity because all these events were moving according to the same cause-and-time chain. We could and should specify separate details of the objective version changing into the description of events if the events are explained from beginning to end. And on the road to understanding of events you should avoid «haughty» judgements and «disapprovals»; you should «put yourself into these events skin», not only understand them, but also try to experience. In particular, one should understand and experience all the weight of current situation. If you don’t understand the seriousness of the situation and events you will not be able to see the real reasons of the accident. Among other things it would not be possible to understand why the group had to abandon a tent if you didn’t realize the real power of nature at this accident.

      Later on the book follow the «lines» of investigation each of which led to complete summaries and conclusions regarding the facts of Dyatlov’s accident. These conclusions allowed us to build up a base for the version, to offer an explanation to the unclear facts and to give up false ideas, i.e. misconceptions that prevented to understand it.

      Our way to understanding of the facts and events was not a highway. We had to struggle against mistakes. The way of investigation follows. For a better understanding we offer our readers to conduct an investigation with us because if to present only the «heart» of the case would be dry, boring and obscure.

      At first we will briefly tell about solving