Dyatlov Group Memorial Plaque (Dyatlov Pass)

The Dyatlov group memorial plaque is a commemorative sign on a rock outcrop at the Dyatlov Pass, between Mount Kholatchakhl and an unnamed 905-metre height, in the far north-west of Sverdlovsk Oblast (Ivdel urban district). It is the main memorial at the Dyatlov Pass: the plaque was put up in 1963 in memory of the nine hikers who died here in the winter of 1959, and other memorials have gathered around it since.

History

A group of students and graduates of the Ural Polytechnic Institute led by Igor Dyatlov left Sverdlovsk on 23 January 1959. Their ski trip aimed at the peaks of Otorten and Oyko-Chakur, a route of at least 300 kilometres planned for 16 days. Yuri Yudin turned back ill on 28 January and became the only survivor. On 1 February the group pitched its tent on the slope of Kholatchakhl, and most likely on the night of 2 February all nine died.

The search began only on 19 February. Rescuers found the tent cut open from the inside, and the bodies were found further down the slope over the following months. The criminal case was closed on 28 May 1959, naming "an elemental force" as the cause. In 2019–2020 the prosecutor's office reviewed the case and concluded that a snow avalanche and the cold killed the hikers, yet dozens of theories, natural, criminal and mystical, still circulate.

Memorials at the pass

The first plaque was put up in summer 1963 by a hiking expedition that named the pass after the group. It reads: "In memory of those who left and did not return, we named this pass after the Dyatlov group. There were 9 of them." In 1989 a second plaque was fixed to the same rock: "Comrades, let us take off our hats before this granite rock. Friends, we will not abandon you." In summer 2012 three plates with articles about the group from the magazine Uralsky Sledopyt were added. Later a plaque was placed in memory of Yuri Kuntsevich, president of the Dyatlov Group Memory Foundation.

In summer 2021 a sculpture by the artist Grigory Envy was installed about 50 metres from the tent site: a stone peak with four hikers climbing it, passing through it and descending it on ropes. The author describes it as an image of the obstacles on life's path.

Legends

Kholatchakhl is usually translated from Mansi as "Dead Mountain". Legend says that nine Mansi hunters died here long before 1959. Nothing confirms the story, but it has become part of the pass's mystical reputation.

Getting there

The way starts in Ivdel, about 500 kilometres north of Yekaterinburg. From there a dirt road of about 85 kilometres leads to the village of Vizhay and on, by off-road vehicle, to a base on the Auspiya river. The pass is about 25 kilometres from the base along a trail up the Auspiya, an 8–10 hour walk. The best time to hike is June to August; in winter people come by snowmobile, with frosts down to −40 °C. There is no mobile signal at the pass, so register your route with the emergency services (MChS) in advance.