We’re the creators of Russian TV Series Dead Mountain. The Dyatlov Pass Incident. The story of one of the most famous and mysterious tragic incidents of the Soviet Union. Ask us anything!

Probably a spoiler for your drama*, but which explanation for the tragedy do you think is the most plausible? I'm most convinced by the katabatic wind explanation

*just want to add that this is one of my favourite mysteries and I will definitely watch the drama once it comes out in Finland

Our favorite version is Aliens) But we belive in realistic version with the avalanche, and after studying all 100 versions and X-files, we came to conclusion that the avalanche version is the most realistic

In Finland it will be shown on SVOD Circus

I heard that the animation models made for Disney's 'Frozen' had proved that it was an avalanche. Did you use them in your series?

Hah, we've never heard about that. We know that there was a model for the Swiss avalanche theory and even an advanced one. Maybe you have an article to read about the Disney model. We would love to read about it.

I guess the documentary will be about scientific evidences and not aliens? Or is it a paranormal tv show?

It is neither a documentary nor a paranormal tv show. It is drama series with an interesting structure. Series1,3,5,7 is an investigation^ and 2,4,6 and 8 (the final one) is a dramatic reconstruction of the Dyatlov group passage, based on their diaries, letters, and documental testimonies.

2019 study says it was most likely a slab avalanche

Boring...I love the spy wars theory.

Chances are the truth is far more boring than our imaginations.

Makes me want to agree with you, we are into movies, because our imaginations, fantasies, and stories are much more interesting than real life. This is why in our series you will see all the versions like UFO, and sounds, and you name it

Seems a bit exploitative honestly. You know the tragedy was probably as mundane as hypothermia but you perpetuate the idea of UFOs because it's more imaginative. Those were real people, not characters in a sci-fi movie. But I say that not having seen the series yet so you might have those bases covered.

That’s exactly what I was thinking, I’m glad someone said it.

Makes me think of the Elisa Lam story. She disappeared in my neighborhood, I remember seeing the missing posters for her on my way to work. When they found her body it was a tragedy and I feel for her family that had to deal with the shock of losing a loved one. Then the internet started turning it into some sort of spooky mystery and exploiting it for clicks. Can you imagine what that does to the survivors to have to be constantly reminded of her death? Honestly makes me sick to my stomach to think about.

If you watch the series, you will see how carefully we treat the memory of the students told by their own words, by their own letters, and diaries. And these series will help the memory of these students live though time.

привет,

Is the place they were hiking at a common place to go for vacation or is it very isolated? Do a lot of people go to ski and hike like that every winter? If it is a common thing, I feel like it would be creepier because then it feels like it could happen to anyone.

I went camping once in Montana and it was in a valley. The wind whipping through the trees and mountains made an unsettling noise. It reminded me of the infrasound theory of Dyatlov Pass and I am wondering if you address that on the show at all? Like even if there is just a simple scene of the wind and weird noises while they are camping would be cool. Or did you come across any studies about it while researching?

I will definitely watch it!

спасибо :)

Thanks a lot! When you will be watching the series, you will see and hear this scene when the guys are trying to make sense of this weird sound they hear, and they are trying to explain to themselves what it was about. And yes - it's a very dangerous path to explore!

Hello,

There is a prevailing theory that a potential factor to the mysterious deaths was caused by a Kármán vortex street: Infrasound (low-frequency) winds & vibrations through the mountain pass that supposedly causes unease and terror. Has your team experienced this phenomenon during research and/or shooting, and if so how did it feel in your own words?

Thank you, and appreciate your work!

Thank you as well! We'd describe it as a conspiracy theory cause while researching we'd never found substance to any of those theories. When you watch the series you will see that actually we have to series in one. The first one is the investigation - series1,3,5,7. And the investigator covers all the main versions, influding Aliens, Manci - the local people, criminals, and the KGB. And the curse of the Dead Mountain. Long before the Dyatlov group had perished, the local ethnic group - the Manci, had called this mountain the Dead Mountain.... AS for the even series - those are dramatic reconstruction of the Dyatlov group passage, based on their diaries, letters, and documental testimonies.

Do you have any opinions/theories/ideas about the Lake Baikal incident in 1993, sometimes called "The Other Dyatlov Pass?" Both are fascinating to me, but this one even moreso because there is a surviving witness to back it up. I'd love to see a detailed documentary of it

Yes, we've heard of the story, indeed they call it something like Baikal Dyatlov Pass, and I am sure there are some docu's you can google and see it. In fact, you do know that at the Dyatlov pass incident there was a survivor, and his report begins our series.

What do the family members think?

The family members have seen the series, and it was very important to us of what their reaction would be, and we'd shown them the first 2 series even before it was aired. We asked for their permission to use real names, and they all gave us such permissions. Our actors really do look like the actual guys, when choosing the actors we were looking to have facial features similarity. Actually, the series have been dedicated to the memory of the all 9 guys, and we consider is a tribute to those who had died. And we were very careful as to portray them pricisely, to keep good memory of those who'd went up to the mountain and never got back.

What do the family members think happened to their loved ones though?

Most of the family members are still looking for the answers and tend to believe more in the conspiracy theories. All this still lasting attention to the incident and the way the case had been treated alongside with the reasons why it had been classified for such a long time brings almost all of them to the conclusion that somewhere there is a well hidden secret. Actually, a fringe between a secret and a mystery is very thin - this summer something mysterious event happened again on the Dyatlov Pass - a head of the Dyatlov pass museum who dedicated all his life to solving this mystery and was the only one who managed to get in touch with Yuriy - the tenth hiker who turned back and survived - also Yuriy himself went on a memorial hike through the Dyatlov’s pass with 9 more tourists and like Yuriy from 1959 felt bad and turned home. But this time the group survived and he did not. He died in Ural, with this hike being the last thing he did after years of looking for the answers.

Do you find it annoying when "researchers" will ignore legitimate scientific explanations and sometimes even suggest that those explanations are more far-fetched than things like Yeti or aliens?

Also, I saw on one show related to the incident that there is supposedly a manuscript written by the Russian military that shows they were aware of the incident long before they were supposed to be. Is that true or is that more fudging of the facts to make an interesting show?

We are not annoyed by these comments, it's the whole community of fans, and they have a right to build any theories they may have studied.

What are your thoughts about Chernobyl tv series ? And also how involved does the Russian government get when a famous series such as yours gets worldwide recognised ?

Bdw, I loved DM.

Thanks for watching, we are thrilled that you've enjoyed it! As for the Chernobyl series we've watched it, and it's an outstanding piece indeed. It's too bad that the work of this level and quality wasn't made in Russia...But it was done with such attention and love for the characters of this tragedy, it prompts deep respect. The Russian Government neither helped, nor was it standing in the way, which was a perfect scenario for us, which enabled us to tell that very version we believe in.

Ok you guys made me sign up on reddit

Top 3 of your favorite books or films about this incedent?

The most interesting book on the topic would be the guys actual diaries and the photo-materials that had been recovered from their cameras. there is a web-site https://dyatlov-pass.ru/ , and you can check it out for yourselves.

Have you heard of Kauan? They made an entire album based on the incident. Since I heard it I'm fascinated by it. Looking forward to the series!

In fact we've never heard of this band, we began listening to it right now, thanks for your advice, it's really impressive!

Any news/chance your show is going to be on Netflix/Hulu?

It is actually already available on the platform - Topic.com Enjoy your show!

So that's a no...

for now, no(

What do you guys believe actually happened there?

We have already answered above, we believe that it was an avalanche.

The Avalanche theory is quite a good one. But I have some issues with it.

How do you account for the tent poles still being up?

The last photo taken by the group shows them setting up their tent and they've stuck a ski pole upside down just below the centre of the tent. The first picture the rescue team took of the campsite the upside down pole is still there. Wouldn't it have been moved by the avalanche?

If the avalanche caused the injuries how did the injured get down mountain? Especially Thibeaux-Brignolles?

Thanks, not trying to be a troll these are just questions that keep me up.

Thank you for your interest and questions! We really appreciate that. Beforehand we had the same questions as you are but after deep and careful study of all sorts of materials about the incident and especially the personal diaries we found our definite answer. And our explanation we've put on the final episode that with careful details have been showing the last day of the Dyatlov group (no, it is not a spoiler)

But did the KGB do it?

HA, what do you think about it?

What do you think of the strange light in the sky photographed by one of the survivors before death but after fleeing the tent?

What do you make of the radiation on the bodies, burned top of the trees, and one of the investigators being asked by the state to not mention UFOs (iirc)?

Genuinely curious. There was alot of weird stuff surrounding Dyatlov Pass.

https://youtu.be/9gpoatbSP_I

The lights in the sky - you can see this version in our series, where we provide very detail answer to this version, and we don't want to argue about it. We had had at our disposal all the criminal files, and we can tell you that no investigator had a research and documented case about possible UFO lead. As for the radiation, one the Dyatlov guys had been working at the Mayak classified nurlear factory, where there could be an exposure to radiation.

The bit about the investigator and UFOs was simply referencing a party official telling them to please not speak about the subject. I wasn't trying to imply that's what the investigators thought it was, simply pointing out it's strangeness.

I can appreciate not wanting to argue, I'm sure there are many passionate people out there on this subject who are combative.

All the same, I hope your series is able to address each of the strange aspects in the case in a satisfactory way that doesn't contort itself into a pretzel just to avoid the bizarre and appear rational. For instance, the tree tops.

I look forward to watching.

Please, watch the series and then write your thought about it. Links us to your answer. We really looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

This is a curious question, but were you allowed to spend some time at the original spot?

Maybe even over night? For inspiration and such?

Well, we didn't come across to this idea, but our main character who was leading the investigation did, and he went out to the site to spend the night there, and this is when he gets clues about the UFO theory. After the series were out, many Youtube bloggers went out to the location, to spend the night at the pass, and got tons of view about this experience.

I love hearing these kind of thought processes.

Thank you very much for answering my question!

By the way, here is the link to one of the blogger's night spent at the pass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1eebleLWeE

So how can a non Russian speaking person watch this?

You can see it on Topic.com - it's for the US and Canada, if you are in Germany you can watch on Fox, Sky X in Austria, also it's available on Megathek and Magenta TV, and SVOD Cirkus for Scandinavian countries.

To what extent did the lack of transparency of the Soviet era impede your research? Are there any primary source documents or person that you could not access due to archaic secrecy protocols?

The fact that our script writer suddenly got access to these archaic classified documents inspired him to write the story. Because he clearly saw and understood what had really happened that night.

What is your take on The Atlantic’s article about the incident?

The last sentence explains it all - "The mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident may one day be solved, but it will never truly be put to rest".

Hi guys, I've been fascinated by the Dyatlov Pass incident for a number of years. Reading through your post I'd originally assumed it was a documentary you made but it looks more like a drama. How does your series differ from other "based on a true story" series or films that bear very little relation to what actually happened (I.e. The Conjuring series)?

Not that I'm trying to discredit the research you've done as I've not seen the series. I'm just curious as to whether you have/were tempted to embellish any of the events you've portrayed for dramatic effect or pacing.

First of all, indeed it's a motion , drama series, and you can see it on Topic.com, and we have taken the most popular version and shared them within our drama series. We actually use those guys actual diaries, and we rebuilt what had happened with them on that mountain.

How much material was based on the long New Yorker article from earlier this year?

The article was published after the official premiere of the series in Russia. And the series is actually based on actual materials of criminal investigation and additional research. We did read the article with huge interest!

Are there any "oddball" theories like UFO'S which can't be ruled out entirely?

As we've told, there are about 100 all kinds of strange theories, and you can always find people who are inclined to things like UFO, we however are about more rational explanations of what had happened. The main mystical part of the story is that it still captures people's minds and hearts, and even after 50 years it still grabs people attenttion, and you can never put down a final point in this story.

Is it being streamed in Australia? I need to see this.

Hi, here is the link: https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/dead-mountain-the-dyatlov-pass-incident Have a nice show!!!

Till now there is no definite answer to what really had happened to the infamous group of tourists in Ural mountains in February 1959?

So there is an answer now? This story always fascinated me.

And what kind of theory is closer to your personally, and in case you haven't seen the series yet, what theory you would like to see explored in the series?

This is the first I've heard of the series, As much as I wanted it to be a Yeti type attack I assumed it was always something natural like landslide or avalanche.

We stick to the avalanche theory. But we had o lot of fun exploring and translating into the screen other different theories.

Where did you shoot this? Specifically where you recreate the camping spot?

We've had 4 main shooting locations: Siberia - Altai, the Arctic Pole - Kirovsk, the Moscow region, and the Leningrad Region. For the most part shooting was done at Altai mountains since the nature is very beautiful there and powerful protagonist of the story. Besides, we shot at the very year, when there was no snow in Russia in winter at all))) So we had to use artificial snow - believe it or not.

Greetings!! If it wasn't ice slab which theory do you prefer the most? tbh mine is definitely yeti and second - LSD

Well, we have studied the materials so deep, that we don't have any other version, We've had official document fro 1959 - official investigation docs, and we know for sure what has happened. All serious investigations all come to the same idea, and this is no accident. The LSD theory would be curious, if LSD had existed back in USSR, I doubt that the Soviet student had any idea of LSD, even the KGB guys didnn't have access to LSD in those years)

Hello.

I was made familiar with the Dyatlov Pass incident by Donnie Eichar's book, Dead Mountain. I found it rather fascinating though I'm not too sure about the conclusions made about what happened. Of course, I'm no expert on the topics presented, so I can be wrong (hell, I usually am). Maybe I just felt let down after the intriguing discussion of an "unknown compelling force."

If I may ask, will the TV series be following the footsteps of the book, or will there be new evidence presented? Perhaps new conclusions made? Or shall I just shut up and wait to see for myself? Lol, thanks.

Firstly, we didn't have the opportunity to read this book. That's why no, the series did not follow the footstep of the book but we guess you can find some similarities as we explore different theory even supernatural. And one of the sources of our script was diaries of the dead students. It is not new evidence but without a doubt a new approach. And yes-yes, you need to see it yourself)

For the avalanche theory … why were some of the victims near nude again?

We do have a clear answer to that in the final episode we don't want ruin your viewing experience with the spoiler.

In your view does the avalanche theory stack up?

You really need to watch our series, we don't want to spoil it for you. But as we previously said we stick we the rational theory and show all explanations in the series final.

We’re you asked by anyone to cut certain scenes or anything of that kind?

No, nobody asked us to cut something and we've shown all that we wanted. And moreover, the series scriptwriter has unique access to investigation documents and we had the freedom to tell it our way. We have cut only scenes that held the narration back for our own opinion.

Have you ever seen Cannibal! The Musical! ?

Why? Is it good? Where we can watch it?)

I haven't watched your show yet, but what do you think about the episodes of Expedition Unknown and Josh Gates' explanation of what happened?

It is truly amazing that people all over the world even 60 years pass try to solve this very famous but yet a very local mystery. We really like and appreciate all theories but choose to stick on rational one)

1) what is your favorite offering from food services/crafty?

2) Do you take working lunches with your crew?

3) How has your experience on this show changed your view of your past work, or your future plans?

1. It is safe to say that it was hot chicken broth. When the weather outside of our huge and utterly warm puffer jacket was minus 30 or even lower chicken broth was a savior. But for me, Valeriy, I really liked mashed potatoes and fried chicken too.
   
2. Yes, we definitely had lunch with our crew. If we wanted to have lunch without the crew It would take two hours through the mountain, wind, and snow by footstep to go to a different place. And in the Altai region, especially where we stood as a shooting crew, there is no restaurants or cafes (
   
3. We decided that first of all we want to shoot all our new projects in a much warmer climate. We said no to winter because we literally froze to death. And we dreamed of a project on tropical islands. But funny things, that we write it between takes on the new set - it is cold, extremely windy, pouring rain. And we sit on a twenty-something floor in an under-construction site. It is not warm at all)

So are you taking the subernatural route with this or making it clear that they are all just halucinating?

The series will give the fans of supernatural theory the proofs they were looking for, and for the rational thinkers - they will be satisfied as well.