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DON'T GO THERE: The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass

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All of Russia knows the mystery; nobody knows the truth. Nine young hikers vanish in the Ural Mountains, their battered, frozen bodies found far outside the camp. Why weren't they dressed? What was the "overwhelming force" that fractured ribs without bruising? Why did the KGB infiltrate the search parties and attend the funerals?Svetlana Oss first brought the story into the international spotlight in 2008. In her groundbreaking English-language investigation for The Moscow Times, she meticulously presented the hypotheses that have proliferated for decades. Now, she reveals the truth. "Don't Go There" unveils the calamitous end of the journey for the nine experienced climbers from the Ekaterinburg University Climbing Society. Newly declassified information, records never translated before, and a captivating perspective will astonish readers."This mystery has a peculiar and persistent every theory is contradicted by at least one conflicting fact," Oss says. "Not a single explanation is able to conquer the riddle. This excites people. It excites me."

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 23, 2015

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About the author

Svetlana Oss

7 books15 followers
Svetlana Oss (Osadchuk) is a Russian writer and investigative journalist. She has published numerous articles in The Moscow Times, The St.Petersburg Times and in The New York Times. In 2012 Russian leading publisher EKSMO published her first full-length fiction: 'One Life Narrative". Svetlana has a passion for investigating Soviet era mysteries, and transforming them into easy to read, exciting, yet informative literary work.

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5 stars
151 (32%)
4 stars
176 (37%)
3 stars
101 (21%)
2 stars
31 (6%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
Profile Image for Leo.
5,120 reviews657 followers
June 9, 2022
I found the book to be very informative and a good non fiction overall. The Dyatlov pass mystery is something that have been discussed in a long time and there's been plenty of ideas of what happened over the years. Been quite interested in what happened there but I must say, while Svetlana Oss seem to be very knowledged in her subject I don't think her solution is right. I think it has a more natural explanation but it's all guesses and speculations. We will probably never know what happened there
Profile Image for Liralen.
3,489 reviews293 followers
May 19, 2020
I've never been a fan of horror stories. This one, though, is a very particular kind of horror story, and in my view an exceptionally interesting one. For one thing, it's a true story, and extremely well documented; it also has many puzzling quirks and contradictions. Above all, at the core of the story there is a seemingly unfathomable mystery. (3)

So! Donnie Eichar argues for infrasound. Keith McCloskey is more interested in conspiracy and vague 'humans were involved' theories. J.H. Moncrieff throws yetis into the mix, because...yetis. (Also because fiction.) Oss concludes that governmental cover-up and incompetence masked murder clues.

Personally, I'm reminded more than anything of The Borden Murders, where the point was less this is what might have happened than it was the investigation was too problematic to lead to definitive answers. This is probably one of the reasons the theories vary so widely: a lot of the information offered is vague and open to interpretation.

Conclusions aside, Oss puts a different spin on it simply by pulling in more background information, both in terms of how the expedition was organised and in terms of the political context of the time. The writing isn't super well organised (and desperately needed proofreading), which made it harder to tell how much of the material was pertinent, but it raises interesting questions about the context and the other research that's been done on the case.

Happily for me, there are books yet to be read about the Dyatlov Pass incident. I can't imagine that any of them are going to clear things up, but since when has that stopped me from reading?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ярослава.
995 reviews1,004 followers
Read
November 11, 2019
Я завжди знаходжуся за крок від того, щоб знову поринути у кролячу нору читання про групу Дятлова (якщо ви не читали про загибель групи Дятлова - дуже рекомендую хоча б вікіпедію, це найкращий тру-крайм жахастик, відомий мені на сьогодні), але улов цього разу геть невдалий. Конкретно це - расистська муть у дусі "це все зробили мансі, наївшись мухоморів, заради кривавого жертвопринесення": я не перебільшую масштабу муті, це рівно настільки погано, як звучить. Тепер мушу промити очі кислотою читнути щось із якимось ще дикішим поясненням типу НЛО.
(Я колекціоную, хто з авторів нехтує яким фактом справи: Осс нехтує наметом, мовляв, його зовні різали. Зате не нехтує язиком, але й не пояснює його ніяк.)
11 reviews1 follower
December 2, 2019
Interesting

Her conclusion about what happened seems the most plausible. Even the most obvious. I agree with her. Other's conclusions seem ridiculous.
Profile Image for Sophy H.
1,990 reviews119 followers
February 18, 2020
A fascinating look at the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass student deaths.

Were the deaths natural or were the students murdered? Hmm, Oss gives her opinion based on information released years after the event. Don't worry, I'm not giving any spoilers.

I recently read Donnie Eichar's Dead Mountain which provides an alternative theory to the deaths, relating to natural freakish weather phenomena. I'm inclined to go with Oss's version of events however, given the shocking injuries sustained by some of the group.

A great book. The only reason for the 4 stars is the shocking amount of printing errors, grammatical faults and spelling issues. Other than that, a fantastic read.
Profile Image for Danessa Violette.
Author 9 books21 followers
August 5, 2018
Excellent book!!

The author did a phenomenal job of providing evidence and facts for this book. Everything one could possibly want to learn about the Dyatlov Pass Incident is written and is extremely well documented in this book. The well presented research the author offers exceeded my expectations.
Profile Image for Kristine.
157 reviews148 followers
December 4, 2022
I really enjoyed the start which was super informative and I do like deep dives into cases like these…

But the second part with the guesses about what happened seemed a little far fetched at best.

Overall, enjoyed the detailed info!
Profile Image for Claudia.
63 reviews
April 30, 2019
The story of the Dyatlov Pass expedition has fascinated me for years. Donny Eichar’s excellent book “Dead Mountain” came up with one possible explanation. This book takes the same evidence and witness statements and comes up with a totally different theory. One that I find even more convincing. We will probably never know what happened in 1959 but it’s intriguing to speculate what could possibly have happened to those nine young people out there. It’s far more gripping than most fictional crime books.
The one problem I have with this book is its stunning amount of typos. There seems to have been zero proofreading. Even editorial notes in brackets like “who?” or “town?” that were clearly meant as notes for the author to fill in later have been printed.
Profile Image for Christina Giscombe.
Author 13 books10 followers
October 24, 2022
Fascinating True Story...pity about the conclusion

This was very good and unputdownable...until...the latter part of the book, when Oss gives her own theory. I am afraid it read very much like disinformation.
Profile Image for Keri Ballenger.
40 reviews
February 12, 2025
What a horrific tragedy!! I hadn’t heard this story before and I’m left with so many questions!! Those poor 9 souls and what they went through in their final moments were nothing short of a nightmare. Sadly, this is a case that will never be solved.
Profile Image for Katherine.
188 reviews3 followers
June 8, 2024
"Wasn't the Soviet government supposed to have all the answers?"
Profile Image for Roger.
37 reviews1 follower
May 6, 2021
Another very good book about the mysterious Dyatlov Pass incident. Possibly one of the better theories is carefully laid out for the reader, albeit with some grammatical errors which can be easily overlooked.
Profile Image for Taksya.
1,054 reviews13 followers
October 22, 2018
La storia dell'incidente del Passo di Dyatlov è, per il pubblico non russo, una scoperta relativamente recente.
Nel racconto dei fatti e delle indagini, Svetlana Oss fa un buon resoconto della situazione russa ai tempi dell'incidente (1959). La Guerra Fredda incombeva sul mondo, nulla che potesse rivelare debolezze / segreti / progetti russi poteva essere rivelato e l'indagine fu conclusa rapidamente e con una soluzione non soddisfacente per tutti.
Di fatto la morte misteriosa dei nove giovani escursionisti, le condizioni in cui vennero ritrovati i corpi e i loro possedimenti (lontano dalla tenda, scalzi e vestiti troppo leggeri, strane ferite e radiazioni inspiegabili sugli abiti di alcuni di loro), strane apparizioni nei cieli notturni (sfere di luce, viste anche in seguito, che potevano essere lanci sperimentali) e l'assenza di indizi riguardanti assalitori o altro rendono l'incidente terreno.fertile per teorie.e supposizioni.
La Oss cita e fornisce resoconti e frammenti dei diari dei compondnti della spedizioni, interviste con testimoni e soccorritori, racconta le abitudini sociali del popolo russo e delle popolazioni locali, elenca le varie teorie e il perché non le trova fattuali.
Fornisce poi la sua spiegazione, semplice e non collegata a mitologia o fantascienza, riuscendo a collegare tutti i punti.
Non la fornisce come unica e vera, lascia al lettore la possibilità di essere o meno d'accordo con lei.
Per ora, avendo letto ancora poco a riguardo, la trovo una teoria più valida di altre.
6 reviews
November 9, 2016
Occam's Razor

The author mentions Occam's Razor in the beginning of her book and tells the reader upfront that she is pursuing the simplest solution to the profound mystery of Dyatlov pass. An old adage defines Occam's Razor--"If you hear the hoofbeats of big herd in New York City, as improbable as that may be, you think of horses, not zebras." Ms. Oss employs such logic, and I think she has cracked the case. Everything fits. My only caveat--if you have stayed up late trying to figure out what happened, if you have marveled at the enigma of the strange, brutal deaths of these fit, intelligent, and expert wilderness ski-hikers, if you have loved the hobby of untying the Gordian Knot--you may experience a letdown. The Dyatlov Pass incident wasn't that big of a mystery after all, just a terrible tragedy of 9 young people in the wrong place at the wrong time. I highly recommend this book. For conspiracy buffs, this book is the gold standard. Case closed. PS: Regarding Mt. Otorton--Don't go there !
Profile Image for Phil.
1 review
January 30, 2017
I bought this book from a seller in the USA via E-bay as I couldn't find the paperback version anywhere in England or mainland Europe.

This is an excellent and well-researched book containing much information not found in works on this subject by other authors. It is written in a straight-forward, no-nonsense manner without any of the sensationalism usually found elsewhere. The author includes testimony from some of those involved in the strange events of 1959.......former police officers, searchers, survival experts and doctors as well as detailed reports (previously kept secret) of the autopsy findings. At the end of the book is a reconstruction of what probably really happened.

I read this book in a single (overnight) session and I can highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this real-life mystery.
1 review1 follower
October 10, 2019
This solves it for me

This is the 3rd book on this that I've read as well as digging into it online. First was "death of nine" which was a good but terrifying start as it shows all photos, full journals and autopsies. It read like a case file. Just the facts. Second book was one that this author refers to and is the recent work "dead mountain" which almost convinced me on a weird wind theory but which has gaping holes in that it didn't explain ALL the evidence. Odd has truly accomplished something with her work as she's included a lot of background detail as recent research that has made the answer so obvious to me. I won't spoil it for you - but highly recommended it for anyone who is still mystified by this awful event
Profile Image for Matt.
165 reviews
May 30, 2017
Good Theory

Very plausible theory. The editing is a bit off and it's clear the author is not a native speaker of English. The issues don't detract from the flow of the narrative too badly though. Worth a read for those interested in this mystery.
Profile Image for MauiBeachReads.
181 reviews4 followers
November 13, 2023
I've long been fascinated by the Dyatlov Pass mystery. I stumbled across a documentary about the loss of the 9 young hikers several years ago and have never been able to get it out of my mind. You can Google the incident to learn more about the details, but there were so many strange findings that no real conclusion could be made about what caused the incident and deaths - was it some kind of nuclear test gone wrong? Did a high frequency noise cause the hikers to lose their minds and murder each other? Was it a Yeti? Or Aliens? (yes, these were actual proposed possibilities) - what could cause such extreme internal damage to the bodies but leave them with no external signs of trauma (no bruising, no scrapes or cuts, etc)? There's really not a lot of information out there, so when I just happened to find this audiobook, I grabbed it! I listened to the entire thing in 2 sittings. It presented some new theories and went into detail about the early criminal investigation done by the Russian government. I did learn quite a bit of new information including details about the now widely accepted theory of the cause. However, I found it somewhat difficult to follow the timeline of various investigations and keep different experts straight. This was likely due to the Russian names my ear isn't familiar with. This might not have been an issue if I'd been reading a physical book and seeing the names. I also found myself confused at times about the evidence - which hikers were found where and the details re: the individual injuries and the particular evidence collected with their body. Again, reading a physical book would have likely been better. Overall, 3.5 stars for the audiobook. I would recommend the physical book for English readers, only because of the Russian names being easier to keep track of through seeing than hearing if you're not familiar with the Russian language. If you're already familiar with this incident and interested in the details, I do strongly recommend you read the book.
Profile Image for Biggus.
554 reviews6 followers
June 18, 2022
It is a little unfair to rate audiobooks and compare them to traditional ones, because they aren't quite the same. The thing about audiobooks is that they are what the narrator does with them.
A good narrator can make a mediocre book good, and bad narrator can make a good book mediocre.
I think this one just made a bad book worse, but I could be wrong.

This narrator sounds like Boris Badenov from Rocky and Bullwinkle, or some second rate voice actor from central casting.

So it is hard to tell whether it's the way this short book is written that puts me off, or the narrator's laughable Russian accents, or both. Either way, I got half way, and I am not even remotely interested in proceeding further. I'll try one of the other books on the subject and see how they stack up.

Note to all audiobook producers: Unless the narrators are skilled voice actors, tell them NOT to attempt accents. It is just embarrassing. Being skilled and thinking you are, are not the same thing.

The book title says it all, "Don't go there" ;)
Profile Image for Sasha Kaufmann.
31 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2020
In mysterious circumstances nine university students were found dead in the Russian Ural mountains in 1959. They had been on a mountaineering trip, their tent was ripped open and the bodies were found not far. Nobody knows with certainty what happened, at least not anyone who's willing to come forward with the details. This is what's known as " The Dyatlov Pass Incident". Svetlana introduces us to the students, outlining their steps and the details of the macabre discovery; along the way photos and excerpts from journal entries bring this to life. We get a critique of various theories; was it an avalanche, military test, espionage, a UFO (meteor or celestial body) or an act of local tribes? Eventually this concludes with a rationale of the most likely explanation. I found the book engaging and although it's made clear early on that there isn't a definitive answer, I was satisfied by the end that the author's conclusion has firm grounding.
218 reviews4 followers
September 5, 2020
As good an explanation as any.

Sound research, careful study of photographs, intense reading of autopsy results, sounding out of other possible theories, it's all in this book. Is this the answer? I don't know but it is the ONLY explanation that has taken into account all the" facts" of the event or events that led to the deaths of nine people. In my opinion the author pretty much nails it but it is unlikely she will ever be proven right. Even if she got only half of the story right that is fifty percent more than anyone else has been able to do. Well done. I believe this book to be a must read for anyone interested in the mysterious deaths of the nine Russian hikers.
Profile Image for Michelle.
14 reviews
January 18, 2023
I have had a fascination with the Dyatlov Pass incident since I first learned about it via Buzzfeed Unsolved. Anyone with a similar fascination should read Oss's take as the Russian journalist whose coverage for the Moscow Times brought the story to the consciousness of people around the world.

Oss methodically lays out the timeline and evidence, tackles and pokes holes in some of the prevalent theories, and ends with one of her own that strikes me as the most plausible, although questions will always linger about what really happened to these nine hikers and why in the bleak landscape of the northern Ural Mountains.
Profile Image for Alexis.
1,246 reviews17 followers
February 18, 2020
Ho iniziato ad interessarmi a questa storia per via della serie sui luoghi più spaventosi del mondo: li conosco praticamente tutti, tranne questo passo sulle montagne russe, così ho deciso di informarmi.
Sono partita da questo perchè ne hanno parlato altri, ma è un fatto talmente strano e misterioso che sicuramente leggerò altri saggi sull'argomento.
Fate attenzione perchè ci sono le foto reali di come sono stati trovati i cadaveri, quindi non è per i deboli di stomaco. I fatti sono raccontati bene, mi è piaciuto anche l'approfondimento sulla vita in Russia a quell'epoca, ogni membro della squadra è ben descritto e analizzato, così come il ritrovamento dei cadaveri, le possibili cause, le indagini e i funerali.
Quello che non va è la scrittura, risente molto dell'influenza russa, non è fluido nella lettura, ci sono frasi brevi e non sempre si riesce a capire il senso del paragrafo.
Ottimo inizio per conoscere meglio questo fatto di cronaca.
12 reviews
June 7, 2022
I'm a sucker for true crime with hints of the supernatural, and I'm also a bit of a Russian history buff, so the mystery of what happened to nine hikers in the Ural Mountains in 1959 has always intrigued me. This book, meticulously researched and written by Svetlana Oss, provides a very plausible solution to the mystery. While it may not satisfy everyone (hint: if you're looking for Yeti, this is not your book), I walked away with the sense that I now understand why those hikers died and why the Soviet government went to significant lengths to obscure the facts.
Profile Image for Julia DeLalla.
98 reviews
April 20, 2024
This book was very interesting I just had a lot of trouble with the way it was sectioned out. I had trouble fully grasping all the evidence. however, I would like to watch some videos about the dyatlov pass. I think it would help me round out my understanding of what may have happened and figure out exactly which theory I feel makes the most sense. I totally praise and respect all of the research that went into writing the book and still enjoyed it overall. Just had a little trouble finishing it as fast as I thought I would.
Profile Image for Tara Brock.
86 reviews
May 12, 2017
Continuing my reading on the Dyatlov Pass with Svetlana Oss' book. I do not agree with her conclusion, but this book was one of the better ones dealing with that time period. She had interviews published with the hikers contemporaries, more documentation on the people interviewed and the most comprehensive publishing of the hikers journals. I really am glad I read this and added it to my collection!
Profile Image for Mary E Hansson.
16 reviews3 followers
November 4, 2017
A sober look at an enduring mystery

This author takes us through the hikers preparations and journey to their death in a steady and methodical manner.
The evidence is collected, looked at with consideration for culture of that time period. Many widely diverse theories reviewed, explaining how they might fit the mystery solution. In the end, the author offers a theory that fits well with the evidence.
I will be looking for additional books by this author.
Profile Image for Elena.
191 reviews1 follower
January 3, 2020
It could have been a good book but it overlooks so many details and proofs. The solution is not - thank God - an improbable one like Aliens or Yeti, yet it becomes confused towards the end where many elements were added, mixed to other, then inexplicably dropped without further explanations. And the solution is a bit too forced in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews