Speaker 1: 0:00

Alright, let's get the shit show started.

Speaker 2: 0:03

Shit show, shit show, shit show, shit show.

Speaker 3: 0:08

And now back to the shit show.

Speaker 1: 0:10

Wow, that was really harmonized. Can I just say how beautiful that was, did you?

Speaker 4: 0:12

take choir. No, oh. However, it probably doesn't sound as good as we thought it did. Maybe it did, I don't know. We're beautiful.

Speaker 1: 0:23

Okay, hey, murderitas, I'm Danica and I'm Hugh, I'm Hugh, I'm Hugh and I'm Hugh. We are the mother-daughter hosts of Murder and Mimosa's, a true-con podcast that strobs to focus on lesser known cases.

Speaker 3: 0:38

We personally think these episodes go down a little bit better with Mimosa.

Speaker 2: 0:43

You said we should.

Speaker 5: 0:44

So grab your worries and get ready, because every Saturday at brunch time is a new episode. You can listen to us on In the Pocket as a platform.

Speaker 4: 0:59

Hello Wanderers. I'm Jess and I'm Hannah, and welcome to Wicked Wanderings, hello Hannah. Hello Jessica, how is your night? Oh, it's great. I'm having a fabulous night.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Recording nights are always so fun so fun to let your hair lose, talk about weird shit and eat food.

Speaker 4: 1:22

And eat food, and Rob loves it, I bet. Rob hates his life, especially when we're together and we're cheers-ing Cheers, girls, cheers, cheers. Alright, so let's get started. I'm just gonna go right into it.

Speaker 1: 1:38

I'm very excited because I'm supposed to be reading this book, but I haven't ready it. You know, no pressure.

Speaker 4: 1:43

Is it good? It's a good book. Yes, it's written in 2013 and there has been more things happen from the case, which surprise, surprise. Jessica Thunna too. Part her, because she can't just fit everything into 45 minutes. And so, for those of you, we are going to talk about the Diatlov Pass incident.

Speaker 1: 2:07

And I'm getting cold already.

Speaker 4: 2:09

I just want to say Right, so I'm still going to apologize for my Russian pronunciation because, well, you didn't take Russian in high school. No, okay, quick story. When I first moved here to Massachusetts and there's this Ukraine and Russian population my only exposure to that accent was in spy movies. And so when I moved here and heard that accent, like walking down a aisle at Walmart, I was like, oh my God, I'm in a spy movie. I just thought you guys would like to know.

Speaker 1: 2:48

I dated a Ukrainian guy for a while and, yeah, it didn't work out well. As you could imagine, I wasn't Ukrainian.

Speaker 4: 2:58

Anyways, moving on, On February 16, 1959, rufina Diatlov walked away frustrated from the administrative building of what was then known as your old polytech, your polytechnic institute or UPI. She was worried and concerned and, I can imagine, extremely frustrated with the administrators she just talked to. You see, rufina's brother, 23 year old Igor Diatlov, and his eight friends were supposed to have returned from their category three hike three days ago, and no one at the university seemed that concerned about it. They figured that the hiking commission had checked the soundness of Igor's proposed route. And delays are just a part of mountaineering life, especially in winter, especially in Verlovsk, what is now known as Yekaterinburg, russia, which also, side note, is where the Romanovs met their end. Yeah, see, it's already kind of a spooky area, right? But Igor Diatlov was the university's hiking star. Surely if anyone could manage that hike, it would be him and his crew.

Speaker 4: 4:13

You see, igor Diatlov, the group's leader, was famous at the school's hiking club for his technical know-how and easy command. He was able to take over any situation and had indisputable authority on his trips, and everyone wanted to go on a trip under his leadership. But one actually had to earn the honor to be a part of his group. So this was during the Cold War and outdoor exploration just began to be a huge part of the young Soviet's life, and the Diatlov hikers had used expeditions such as this to escape the confines of the big cities.

Speaker 4: 4:51

After Stalin died, things opened up more and students could go almost anywhere in the country. Now, even though they were still not allowed to go abroad, domestic tourists like Diatlov and his group were helping to map out uncharted regions of the country, particularly Siberia and the Ural Mountains. This particular hike for Igor was a pivotal trip. All the hikers were grade two hikers, which meant they were all experienced in lengthy ski tours and mountain expeditions. But this hike during this time of year was estimated to be the highest difficulty, a designation of grade three, which all of us, I didn't know before researching. So is there grade four and five? No, I think grade three is the highest at the country at the time.

Speaker 4: 5:45

So if they were able to complete it successfully, they would be awarded the grade three certification. Like I said, it was the highest certification in the country at the time. It requires candidates to cover 300 kilometers, which I think was 186 miles, I think.

Speaker 1: 6:03

I wrote that down right. Yeah, it's usually about like half of whatever the climber is.

Speaker 4: 6:08

Of ground, with one third of those in challenging terrain.

Speaker 4: 6:12

The minimum duration of the trip was to be 16 days, with no fewer than eight spent in an uninhabited region and at least six of those days spent in a tent. This hike would grant them masters of the sport, which was a distinction Igor really wanted. But still, delays are common, especially with a hike as difficult as this one. There were some concerns within the UPI sports club that the group was a part of, but everyone seemed to agree that, since Igor was their hiking star, the group was probably just a couple days late. Rufina and other family members were told that there was nothing that the university could do, since the club's director himself was on a hiking trip and was assured that there was nothing to worry about, and they were just delayed. But Rufina knew her brother and she knew his strengths as an outdoorsman. These strengths are the reason that his peers believed he would be returning soon, before Rufina. It created more cause for concern, because if a man as capable and careful as her brother hasn't returned by now, it could only mean that something was very wrong.

Speaker 1: 7:24

So for your research. Was it only Dead Mountain that you got it from?

Speaker 4: 7:29

No, there's a whole website dedicated to this case, interesting DeoutlovePasscom.

Speaker 1: 7:35

Do you mind being a love and getting me my Dead Mountain book, cause I feel like I need to put that on my TBR.

Speaker 4: 7:40

Do you want it? Do you need it? So my source, dead Mountain by Donnie E Carr is actually a really good book. But he's American and he got really into this and he went to Russia and met with the director of the Deout Love Foundation and then he ended up doing the hike. But I'm not that far in the book.

Speaker 1: 8:01

Sorry, cause I mean for you to go ahead, but I think I'm going to start reading this Do it. Do it, so I can catch up to where you are.

Speaker 4: 8:09

Yeah For Rufina. It created more cause for concern, because if a man as capable and careful as her brother hasn't returned by now, it would only mean that something is very wrong. Also, expedition Unknown Josh Gates does an episode. It's a two-parter. You like him, I do. I don't know why. I like the adventure.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Cause didn't he also do the World's Fair?

Speaker 4: 8:33

Sure, he's done a lot of episodes.

Speaker 1: 8:36

Very interesting being the one talking about with the guy that had the house.

Speaker 4: 8:40

Oh, hh Homes? Yes, I'm not sure. The families of the hikers began to express outward concern for their family and contacted the university as well, but also received the same response as Rufina. So let's take a look into who these delayed hikers were. There were a total of nine, seven males and two females, and I'm probably going to butcher these names, so please don't judge me. I already mentioned Igor Dyatlov, the group's leader, who was studying radio engineering at UPI. His bedroom was outfitted with radio panels, homemade receivers and shortwave radios, which were actually banned during the Cold War at the time, but he created those. But Igor had made shortwave radios for some of the hiking trips. So my initial thought when I read that was like okay, well, why didn't he take him on this trip? Right, the reasoning was at the time these radios were cumbersome and weighed almost a hundred pounds and wouldn't have been helpful on a trip like this one. It would have been too much.

Speaker 1: 9:53

I feel like Rob could talk to that, because I mean, you love radios, you love scanners, you love podcasting equipment and hiking and hiking, like, can you imagine carrying this equipment that far and that long ago to where it would be this heavy?

Speaker 3: 10:08

I don't know how heavy this equipment is and how far you're going. How far are we going?

Speaker 4: 10:12

186 miles.

Speaker 3: 10:13

Okay, that's a long time. That's a long portion. I'm a huge fan of the Appalachian Trail, so I like Boop boop.

Speaker 1: 10:20

AT.

Speaker 3: 10:21

I watch a lot of the through hikers on YouTube that document their through hike. And a lot of them do anywhere from 15 to 20,. 25 miles a day is kind of pushing it, so I'd say the average is about 20 miles a day. And the average backpack that they're carrying they call it base weight is 15, 20 pounds. Now, what was this equipment that they're carrying?

Speaker 4: 10:47

Well, the radio is said was like a hundred pounds.

Speaker 3: 10:51

Yeah, so they're carrying a lot and they're doing a lot of miles. I'm guessing they're probably only doing, you know, five, 10 miles a day. If they're carrying that much, so that would be a pain in the ass to go yeah. Definitely.

Speaker 4: 11:03

Sorry for that long explanation.

Speaker 3: 11:05

Well, no, no, it was very helpful, but I just had to get that in my head. Process, process it, I guess, is what we would say.

Speaker 4: 11:12

Thanks, rob. So the next person was Zilnada Komogorova, or Zina. She was 22 and was also a student in radio engineering. She was regarded as lively and bright and was always ready with an amusing remark. She was also a tomboy and was the type that drew admiration wherever she went, and several of her companions had crushes on her, according to the book Dead Mountain. But Ludmila Dubenina was 20 and she was the other female and was the youngest of the group. She was also a student at UPI, obviously because these hiking expeditions were run by the university, but she was a student of construction and industry economics, because that sounds so exciting. She was considered a serious person and she was strong and capable of enduring intense pain and discomfort. On one of her previous trips, luda was shot in the leg after a companion had mishandled a hunting rifle. Ouch yeah. And she also had the reputation of being outspoken and a highly principled student and a fervent communist. Oh Because? 1959, russia, ussr.

Speaker 2: 12:33

Yes, but wow that okay, she was all for it.

Speaker 1: 12:37

Yeah.

Speaker 4: 12:38

And most of these guys were oh, all right People. Okay, yuri Dorschenko. I think I'm trying too hard now.

Speaker 5: 12:47

Dorschenko Yuri.

Speaker 4: 12:48

Dorschenko, 21, also studied radio engineering at UPI. He was impulsive and brave and he carried an aura of myth about him, and on one trip he chased off a bear with nothing more than his nerve and his geologist and hammer. Well then, yeah, yuri Krivonov Krivonovichchenko, 25, was known as a resident gesture and music musician. He was always ready with wisecracks in a mandolin. He had a big personality and a talent for storytelling when he wasn't singing or pulling pranks. He was a student of construction and hydraulics. And there was Alexander Kolotov, who was known as a methodical young man with an imposing physical presence, and he was 25. In his downtime from studying nuclear physics he loved to puff on his antique pipe. He was also an intensely private person and often reluctant to share his journal entries with his comrades. So these descriptions from the book kind of resemble dating profiles to me. To say, on his downtime from studying nuclear physics, rustem Slobodin, 23. Don't hate me if I'm pronouncing these wrong Was the group's rich kid.

Speaker 4: 14:15

He was the son of an affluent university professor and it was actually his father who had been the first to reach out to the university about his son's absence. Nickname Rustic I'm gonna just say rustic had already earned a degree in Mechanical engineering, and he was also musically gifted and enjoyed playing the mandolin as well. He was described as unpretentious and friendly. As they come, nikolai Thibault Brignolus, 24, was distinguished by his foreign name and background. He was the great grandson of a Frenchman who immigrated to Russia in the 1880s to work in the rural factories, and Nikolai had already earned his degree in industrial civilian construction. Though serious and exceedingly well-read, he always looked for humor in any situation. Yuri Yudin I put him last for a reason he was 22 and was a geology student and was the image of ease and good humor. He had suffered lifelong problems with rheumatism and heart condition and a chronic knee and back pain.

Speaker 2: 15:31

Oh.

Speaker 4: 15:32

He was the least likely of the group. He had previously been forced to take a year off due to illness, but hiking had restored his vitality. However, yudin would not make it all the way with the group. He eventually had to turn back due to increasing back pain. But there was also a last-minute addition to the group, alexander Zolletaryov. Sure, you're trying, it sounds great, or Sasha? He was older than the rest of the crew coming in. At 38 years old. He was a hiking instructor and Igor thought he would be a valuable addition to the team.

Speaker 4: 16:12

He had originally intended to set off with another group at the time that was headed further north, but the timetable didn't work for him. He had a mouthful of metal and several tattoos who which was actually unusual for the average Russian citizen in the 1959, but were common among veterans. So he was actually a veteran of World War two and had actually seen combat. The day after Rufina had been to the university, the university officials actually sent a telegram to Vizier, the village that the group had been traveling from, to start their trip, responding to the pressure from the families. So they were trying, after the family's pressure, to see, you know, if the group had checked in with that village on their way back. Search planes were also requested by the families, but the request was actually refused.

Speaker 1: 17:06

Why.

Speaker 4: 17:07

Because they were deuces. Oh geez, they just figured that they were late, so the next day. So we're now on February 18th and five days after the group was supposed to return, the sports club director, liv Gordo, returns from his trip. To the chaos of what's going on. The university had also received that day a telegram back from Vizier saying that the group had not made it back there. Besides, this is very serious, it is, it is. This gave cause for action and apparently, with the university sports club, they've required all hikers to keep journals to document their trips. Interesting, yeah. So the the all the hikers had a personal journal and then they had like a group journal, and then they Wanted them to take pictures as well.

Speaker 1: 18:03

I do love that though. Yeah, like scientific wise Mm-hmm, very interesting.

Speaker 4: 18:09

Okay, the hikers also had to get their route approved by the hiking commission, which was nowhere to be found at the local commission and it was either lost or never filed. But In the book it mentions something about yacht love, just not filing it, like never falling through with them.

Speaker 1: 18:30

I mean without even reading the book. I've heard things about this area and, yeah, conspiracy theories and yes, we will get into that in the next episode.

Speaker 4: 18:40

So read up that book we can discuss. Also. You should watch expedition unknown, because they actually explore those conspiracy theories as well. Okay, yes, so we can discuss. So, despite not having the exact route or route, whichever, side of the country you live on.

Speaker 1: 19:01

No, I'm curious, because I say route. What do you say?

Speaker 4: 19:03

you say route West we say route the route the group took, interesting route the Rob. What do you say?

Speaker 3: 19:10

It depends the context of the conversation so the route, route 69, I'm going to take that route thinking, yeah, cuz I guess I would say, okay, take route five.

Speaker 1: 19:23

But if someone's talking to me I'm like, yeah, I would definitely take that route.

Speaker 4: 19:27

Yeah, okay, that's what it's weird despite not having the exact route the group took, the search for the missing hikers officially begins on February 20th, which is almost a full month since the hikers left on their trip. So, going back to the beginnings of their trip, it was the evening of January 23rd 1959 that the hikers embarked on their journey. They were accompanied by another group of hikers that would travel with them most of the way, then split off to go on a different Direction. Really, no one talks about them. Yeah, and it was more like on the train to get to Vigée. So they boarded the number 45 train from Sferlovsk for the 10 hour and 34 minute train ride to Sferlov yeah right, where they arrived at 7 39.

Speaker 1: 20:23

So you're really going to on a train ride to get to a cold climate, to hike for 16 days Like why does that sound?

Speaker 4: 20:30

enjoyable to anybody? You know, I was wondering the exact same thing when they arrived there. They had an 11 hour layover until the next leg of the trip to Ivdel. They preferred to sleep inside the station, but the workers wouldn't let them in. So they were eventually able to find a place to catch up on their sleep at a local elementary school, aptly named school number 41.

Speaker 1: 21:01

They do that in New York right.

Speaker 4: 21:03

Don't they name?

Speaker 1: 21:04

their schools like by number public school one PS2 PS3 right, yeah, yeah, interesting, I did not know that.

Speaker 4: 21:13

Should we call John again? What's up? Have you heard about the Dealt Love Pass incident in Russia in 1959?

Speaker 2: 21:28

Maybe Can you remind me.

Speaker 4: 23:02

Well, so, as nine hikers that disappeared or were delayed and I'm not going to do a spoiler alert, but we were just talking about schools because they stopped at a school number 41, and Hannah was like, oh, that's how they do that, how they do it in New York City where we do like schools by number and like PS, whatever, instead of a name.

Speaker 1: 23:27

And she's like what? And I was like no.

Speaker 4: 23:29

John knows, because John knows everything.

Speaker 2: 23:34

Yeah, in New York City that's how, because I mean there's so many public schools it's not like you know Springfield you can name them all different. You have Central and you have X, y and Z, but in New York, because there's so many across all the boroughs, they're all numbered. So you have PS 49 or PS 52. Interesting, it's just public school X, so it's way for them to categorize them. They don't have to name them all.

Speaker 4: 23:57

Oh, so that was just our questions. Sorry to bother you again. No, you guys are never bothered, we just miss your face. Like I said, I miss you guys? I mean, I just saw Robin Hannah this morning, but I guess, I'm going to go ahead and say that, but I miss you, but it's been so long since this morning, right?

Speaker 2: 24:17

Been a very long time. I was like fuck you.

Speaker 1: 24:22

just let me have my evening, but have myself.

Speaker 4: 24:25

You know what, jonathan? I'm sorry, hannah's like a little crazy tonight. Oh, it's my fault. Okay, we'll let you get back to whatever you were doing.

Speaker 1: 24:37

You are a valuable member of the Wicked Wanderings team. Yes.

Speaker 2: 24:42

Oh, thank you.

Speaker 4: 24:44

Also, we have like 50 trips planned. I don't know if you've been listening, but Excellent.

Speaker 1: 24:50

We're going to do this with Jonathan. Yes, new Orleans has been added New Orleans.

Speaker 2: 24:55

We want to go over to the boutique du.

Speaker 4: 24:57

Zempier and go to there Scotland, and there were a couple others, but I love it.

Speaker 1: 25:04

Yes, so get going on that yeah.

Speaker 2: 25:08

So we'll give you a list Wonderful.

Speaker 1: 25:11

Okay, thanks for being such a good sport Bye. Thank you, love you, bye. And he's like, okay, I totally hung up before he hit the button.

Speaker 4: 25:22

He's like what the fuck? So school number 41 in the school master allowed them to stay under one condition they had to come speak to the children later that day about their trip, which they did. So they, they talked to the students and, you know, set up the tent and talked about what their trip was going to look like.

Speaker 4: 25:46

Oh boy, yeah, and it was kind of cute, because the kids didn't want Zena to leave for whatever reason they loved her, which was adorable, which I love hearing these stories because it kind of gives an insight to who these hikers were.

Speaker 1: 26:01

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 4: 26:02

Absolutely. They boarded the train to Evdel at 6.30pm and arrived at midnight and bunked at the station until about 6am. They then took the bus into the city, did some errands and then, around 7am, the two groups took a very crowded bus to Vigée, which happened to be the last civilized post before they entered the uninhabited, more treacherous part of their trip. This is also where the two groups would split off from one another, and that night, january 25th, they stayed at the guest house in the workers camp and they were able to relax and some of them actually went to a cinema to see one of the group's favorite movies, which was a musical, which is kind of cute. Do we know what it was? Yes, but I did not type it in here.

Speaker 1: 26:57

Wow, I'm so sad. The important details here, Jess Right I know.

Speaker 4: 27:04

So the next morning, the 26th, the group found out that their truck to their destination sector 41, wasn't leaving until the afternoon. So the group gathered supplies and decided to get information about the area from local foresters which, when hiking this area or any areas, a visit to the local foresters was always one of the first stops, as they were the ones that knew the roads and could advise visitors on their routes. The forester warned the team of the real winter conditions and the forester strongly advised against the trip to the Ural Mountains. The forester told them that it was dangerous to go over the Ural Ridge in the winter. It was at this time that you didn't you're the you didn't began to have serious doubts about continuing with the group. He was experiencing shooting pain through his back and legs. Oh yeah, ouch. So the tea. Can you imagine hiking with that shit? No, I.

Speaker 1: 28:09

I've had back pain before. I've had my back Throw out on me before. It is no joke.

Speaker 4: 28:15

It hurts yeah, let alone hiding through mount, hiking through mountains yeah, no thanks. So the team climbs in the back of this truck and makes their way to sector 41 and On January 27th it's their first official start to their journey. It had already taken them four days to get here and it was just beginning, so you didn't condition actually worsened after riding in that the back of the truck, I bet. And If he continued with the team he would only be a burden and decided to turn back. So that would be the last time he would see his friends alive and he was alive till 2013.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Yeah, wow, just because of one decision.

Speaker 4: 29:03

Mm-hmm. So let's fast forward to February 20th, when the official search began. So search helicopter was dispatched in the Ivedale Prosecutor's office ordered a criminal investigation into the case of the missing hikers. So criminal investigation, huh Do they know something that we don't know. So Vasily Tempolov is assigned to head the investigation and he has Considerable experience prosecuting cases in the region, but zero experience with young missing hikers. Well, who wants?

Speaker 1: 29:43

experience with that, I mean yes.

Speaker 4: 29:46

However, how would that help the investigation? Would that have any kind of? Well, we'll get into that in a little bit. The sports committee at UPI is trying to determine the hikers route so they can relay the information to the search teams. So two members of the search team Gordo, the clubs director, and Blinnell, who was actually the head of the group that they traveled up with Hmm, we're searching the area, trying to pick up their trail. They stop at the manzi village and the manzi were like the local indigenous people and they knew the mountains Intimately, so their help was essential for the search and the D out love group had actually stopped at the village at one point in their journey and Several of the manzi actually joined the search team to help search for the hikers. On February 25th, a month after the hikers departed and 12 days after they should have returned, a search helicopter dropped a note on the ground for the search team below. So this is how they communicated, because it was 1959.

Speaker 1: 30:56

I understand that, but what?

Speaker 4: 30:59

the helicopters would drop notes down below and then the the people on the ground would lay down in Certain formations to communicate back to the helicopters. Yeah, super interesting.

Speaker 4: 31:13

Okay all right, okay. So the note directed the ground team to change their course to a smaller adjacent river from where they were at, where some tracks had been seen from the sky. When the search team changed their course, they not only picked up the outlives trail but also evidence of one of their campsites. However, the next morning they lost the track of the trail due to high winds that covered the tracks. So they revert to following the river again, the small river. So this, this part, kind of sounds a little suspicious. I'm kind of curious.

Speaker 4: 31:51

Oh, I'm obsessed of this whole thing right exactly so. At one point, a volunteer of this search group named Ivan Complains of feeling ill and informs the group that he isn't feeling well and is going to turn back to. If, though, so the group doesn't believe that Ivan is sick at all, but that he's scared, so suspicious, don't be suspicious.

Speaker 1: 32:19

Don't be suspicious. Don't be suspicious.

Speaker 4: 32:24

But they agree to go on without Ivan. And before he leaves, though, he suggests to the group Continue in the direction of the Otoran Mountain until they encounter a stream bed at the bottom of the slope. Because of the westerly winds in the area, ivan says the snow has accumulated along the slope, creating potential avalanche conditions. They take his advice and head into that direction. Don't you think those? Those directions are a little like too specific? Hmm, like Ivan, have you been here before? I guess there's something we should know.

Speaker 1: 33:03

I feel like I'm going ahead Because, even though I haven't read Dead Mountain, there's so many stories about Okay, I'm getting into weird here, but like Bigfoot, right, and aliens, ufos I didn't get it that part but like tribes that are in those mountains, because I'm sure you're gonna get into this, but like body parts that are out, like not in their bodies anymore, like you have Hypothermia, right, you get why they might be stripped down to a certain sense, but there's other parts are like why?

Speaker 4: 33:46

Well, and I I think that there's. That's why this is such a mystery. Yeah, spoil alert. There is no like confirmed solution to this, like yeah, yeah we'll definitely get into that.

Speaker 4: 34:01

So the episode with Josh Gates, an expedition unknown, happened in 2019, mm-hmm, which was six years after this book was published, and At the end of that episode, there was enough information found that the Russian government opened the case again, which is surprising, cuz, yeah, russia's very creepy about everything. In 2023, they made a conclusion, they decided this is what happened, but I'm not gonna talk about it yet, so we'll get into that next episode.

Speaker 1: 34:30

We're not talking about it bullshit yeah.

Speaker 4: 34:32

I call bullshit yeah, and that's why I like the Josh Gates episode is because they explore all these conspiracy theories Surrounding this case and that's why I like my vampire episode that happened last week.

Speaker 1: 34:45

Like, this is the story, these are the facts I have, I, but this stuff is still unexplainable. Yeah, I don't need it all explained by science, because that's what gives us a sense of of the unknown. Yeah, there's no way that we know everything about everything.

Speaker 4: 35:03

No, there's no way, except Jonathan, he knows everything.

Speaker 1: 35:06

Jonathan does, know everything. I will give him that 98 percent, 98 percent yes.

Speaker 4: 35:14

So they take Ivan's advice and they head into that direction, and at some point in the afternoon, before the team is able to reach the crest of the hill, the team notices a black spot in the, and it turns out to be the tent. They hurry to the spot as fast as the conditions allow, and the tent poles are still vertical, with the south facing entrance still standing, but recent snowfall has caused part of the tent to collapse. There is a partially burned Chinese torch left in the on position, and there's also an ice axe sticking out of the snow. One of the searchers swings the axe to rip open the part of the tent. There were no bodies in the tent, which gave searchers some hope that the hikers would be found alive. However, they also notice that the tent was set up as if the group would be coming back at any moment. The food was set up, but more concerning, though, was that all the hikers boots were still in the tent lined up.

Speaker 1: 36:23

I feel like that's why people bring in the hypothermia thing, but it's still very strange.

Speaker 4: 36:29

Yes. So the searchers, however, had to head back to base camp before nightfall and there was an impending snowstorm. When they did get back to the base camp, they were able to communicate via radio their news of their discovery. A message came back that night from Ivedale requesting that a helicopter landing and campsite for roughly 50 people be arranged nearby and with strict orders not to touch anything. Well, it's kind of a little late for that. With word of the discovery spreading like wildfire, multiple search teams showed up to begin a more extensive search. The following day, the teams began examining the area around the tent in a way that was chaotic and which probably should have been left to investigators. They most likely destroyed potential evidence. The search teams eventually found footprints about 20 yards away from the tent and there are multiple sets that have been preserved despite the weather. Some are large, made by boots, but others are small and less distinct, as if the person wasn't wearing shoes. The which this is amazes me. This amazes me the distance between things that were found. The prints extend for half a mile, and then the search team loses sight of it.

Speaker 4: 37:57

About a mile away where the footprints were found, another team is looking for a place to build a campsite for all the equipment and the growing amount of people. They come across a spot that doesn't really seem. Right Beneath a large cedar tree, they notice charred cedar bows partially buried in the snow. They find what looks like traces of a haphazardly, haphazardly, haphazardly, haphazardly, haphazardly is a very difficult word. It is put together fire pit. Just north of the pit they see something sticking out of the snow and upon further inspection they discover that it's a human knee. They go back to the camp to alert the others to their find, and what they find is something we'll talk about in next week's episode. What? But yeah, so that is the beginning of the Dealt Love Pass incident.

Speaker 1: 38:56

Well done and good trying with the names. I know it's not easy.

Speaker 4: 39:00

No, All right. Good night Hannah, Good night Rob, Good night Wanda. We love you.

Speaker 5: 39:06

We love you long time Bye. Thanks for listening today.

Speaker 1: 39:09

The show wouldn't be possible without our amazing producer and editor, Rob Fitzpatrick, who works tirelessly behind the scenes to bring you the best content and a special thanks to Tyga Soundprod for providing the captivating intro music cinematic intro 24. And of course we can forget the hauntingly beautiful outro music, rhino's Theme composed by Kevin MacLeod, if you enjoyed today's episode.

Speaker 4: 39:32

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Speaker 5: 39:39

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Speaker 1: 39:42

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Speaker 4: 39:50

Thank you so much for listening and being part of our Wicked Wanderings community.

Speaker 5: 39:55

We appreciate each and every one of you Stay curious, keep exploring and always remember to keep on wandering.