PDF Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar in History

Review

239 of 245 people found the following review helpful. Great read with interesting endingBy CRThe Dyatlov Pass incident is always cited as one of the great unsolved mysteries; and so I was excited when my wife gave me "Dead Mountain: The untold Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident" as a gift. However; I have to admit I was a little skeptical that the author would be able to "solve" the case or uncover any new details; since so many have tried over the last ~50 years. But once I started reading; I was immediately hooked. Mr. Eichar does an amazing job of transporting the reader back to a time and place shrouded with secrecy: Soviet Russia. As an American; it was fascinating learning about the life of these students and the people and places they encountered in their last days. The writing flows nicely and is kept interesting by the weaving in of the stories of the search party and families; as well as Mr. Eichar's journeys to Russia and encounters with survivors. Ultimately; it's Mr. EIchar's conclusion on the fate of these young people that is most important; and the author delivers here too. His thesis is new; fascinating; proven plausible; and about as terrifying as it gets.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries and/or outdoor adventure or is simply looking for a engaging true story...just don't try and read it before your next ski trip!73 of 78 people found the following review helpful. where he pretty much retraced the steps of the Dyatlov party into ...By CustomerWell this is really two books: the story of the 9 hikers who died in the Dyatlov pass in February 1959; and Donnie Eichar's trip to Russia in 2012; where he pretty much retraced the steps of the Dyatlov party into the Ural mountains. He does a nice job of reconstructing the last days of the Dyatlov party's and really introduces them to us. The portion of the book I think of as "Donnie's Russian Adventure" is pretty annoying. He does not speak Russian so relies on translators or just gestures and facial expressions; probably about the worst way to interview someone or get information from them. Who knows what he missed? I got the impression he hurried the whole trip because he had a baby on the way. He also seems woefully ignorant of life in the Soviet Union during the time period. I wasn't looking for UFO explanations or anything; but he ignores several important things in his "investigation" comes up with some possible; maybe it could be if everything was just right theory. He ignores the fact that these were experienced; tough kids; well versed in hiking the Russian mountains in winter (((SPOILER ALERT))) instead theorizing that these people were frightened by low frequency sound. Noise; basically. This sound supposedly frightened them so much that these experienced; tough; capable hikers abandoned their tent in -40 degree Fahrenheit temperatures with a 40 to 50 mile an hour wind and fled to their deaths; in many cases half clothed and in all cases barefoot. This is just nonsensical. These folks would have known beyond any doubt that by doing so; they would die of exposure very quickly. I don't care how much dread or fear infrasonic sound can induce; I seriously doubt all nine of these folks succumbed to a level of panic that caused them to knowingly commit suicide by leaving the tent half clothed and fleeing blindly into the arcticdarkness. It's just not credible. One or two; maybe; but all nine? Nobody flees blindly into certain death unless something more immediately threatening is there; and these folks obviously left in a big hurry; all at once. I don't know what did happen; but I'm not buying this theory. Sorry.107 of 111 people found the following review helpful. Excellent book on the subject; not sure I agree with the conclusionBy Grant FritcheyWhile browsing the internet many years ago; I stumbled across the story of Dyatlov Pass and whatever the heck it was that happened there. It's the kind of mystery that endures; like who was Jack the Ripper; or what happened on the Mary Celeste. A group of experienced hikers make camp; then suddenly in the night; for no apparent reason; cut their way out of their tent; charge off into the frozen mountains half dressed and shoeless; run hundreds of meters from their tent; and die. How can you not be interested in the story. It's close to unheard of behavior. Toss in bits of mystery such as a strange lights in the sky; Soviet era paranoia; radiation; missing tongues; and it all gets even more fascinating.Donny Eichar wrote the book as a combination travelogue and history. We get to see both his adventures in traveling to Russia to visit the people and locations and the history of what happened to the hikers. It's a unique resource in English because Mr. Eichar was able to talk to people who were there; either the lone Dyatlov group survivor; or many of the people who took part in the search and investigation. And if you read through much of the stuff on the internet about Dyatlov pass; this resource clears up tons of bad information. At first; I wasn't crazy about the travelogue nature of the book; but after a while; it does grow on you. It makes it more fun to both discover what happened; and to discover how we discover what happened (assuming that makes sense). The book is well written and the information is laid out in a logical fashion. All the photos from the original expedition are wonderful to see. Many of the myths around the mystery are absolutely explained away in clear and unequivocal fashion. But...Mr. Eichar sort of; right at the end; suddenly; with not that much support; throws out a theory (removed to avoid spoiling it for others). While; as a theory; it makes a heck of a lot more sense than UFOs or mountain elves; it was presented with little lead in; no experimentation whatsoever; and nothing but some conversations with a scientist or two and lots of speculation. It seemed like Mr. Eichar had hit a page limit or something and wanted to wrap everything up. I'm not saying I don't believe it; but it just seemed to appear out of nowhere; landed in our laps; and poof; we're done with the book.If I hadn't been so enamored with the rest of the book; this sudden stop ending might make me give this book three stars. It feels that abrupt and jarring. However; the rest of the book really is good. It's an a wonderful read. I just wish Mr. Eichar had taken a little more time and trouble at the end of it; especially after clearly putting so much time and effort into the rest of the book.