It is February of 1959 in the Soviet Union where nine elite hikers die mysteriously on the place that is now known as “Dead Mountain”. These nine hikers who most of them at the time attended the Ural Polytechnic Institute were determined to achieve the “Grade III” Hikers rank which was the highest rank. They were Grade II and only needed one more hike to achieve the goal. The group was lead by Igor Dylatov who was the most experienced of them all and was also very smart. The group consisted of ten hikers and most of them had or were still working on completing their degree from UPI.

The group set off on their last adventure in February of 1959. They travel up the Northern Ural mountains making stops at Inuit villages and such. On their way up Yuri Yudin is forced to turn back and had home because of an illness he had. He was the only one who survived. Obviously the hikers did not make it back to the university when they were supposed to be back so this caused many parents and the college to worry. They sent out search teams and for the first weeks founds nothing. One month later search teams said they found the hikers tent cut open from the inside and all of their belongings were untouched. Evidence then showed that the hikers left their tent in the middle of the night barefoot and without any other proper clothing. Many speculations and theories arose on why nine hikers would cut open their tent and run out barefoot and without the proper clothes.

Over the course of the next several weeks the bodies of hikers were found a mile away from their tent buried in snow and dead from hypothermia and very serious injuries to the skull and chest. Scientists analysed a photo of the hikers clothes that showed signs of radiation on them. These discoveries were haunting because no answer was found to how this happened. The Russian Government closed the case and said their reason of the death was by “an unknown compelling force.”

Donnie Eichar, author of this gripping and heart racing true story stumbled upon this story in 2012 while he was living in Florida. Donnie is a Florida native and someone who has seen snow enough times to count on his hands. He is a film producer and actor who loves to surf and the beach. Someone that you would not think would dare to travel through the Siberian cold. But when he discovered this fifty year story he was suddenly addicted to it. So he took it to himself to discover what really happened to these hikers. He invested a small fortune into this case and used it by traveling to Russia, conducting many interviews, gaining access to classified files and photos and the diaries of the hikers.

Donnie met with the leader of the organization that is dedicated to the Dylatov Pass incident. A conflict for Donnie was that his new friend could not speak fluent english so they had to use gestures when they didn’t have a translator. A very important and interesting part of this book is when Donnie interviews one of the sisters of one of the lost hikers. The interview showed the culture of that part of Russia and how different it was for Donnie who came from Florida. This part in the story shows the village where this lady is living in and how many of the buildings are still from the Soviet Era. A pivotal moment in the story is when Donnie travels to the sight of where the hikers tent is. This moment showed the immense amount of discomfort because of the cold during their forty mile snowmobile ride to the tent. But after he was still left with the same troublesome question that he has been asking himself, “why did they run from the tent, what scared them? What caused them to leave so unfit for the conditions outside their tent?”

The Main goal that Donnie Eichar is trying to accomplish with this book is to figure out what really happened to those nine hikers. Donnie Eichar does a great job of showing the Russian culture in this book from his meeting with many of the Russian characters. This book makes the reader think constantly about the same thing the author is thinking about. This gives the author and a reading and stronger connection because throughout the investigation you know just as much as he does. Donnie Eichar writing is full of imagery and description and it gives the reader a great feel of what it would be like to be there. 

This Untold true story of the Dylatov pass incident was a fascinating read and left me glued to the book. It made me more knowledgeable about the lifestyles and cultures of people in our world.