Aleksander Kochetkov - The Dyatlov Pass. The Hike of the Doomed through the Forbidden Areas. Book 1. The conclusions of Kochetkov

It turns out that a certain engineer «procured a car for Dyatlov», i.e. he negotiated with Khakimov that he would provide a car for the hikers. And this is a very important piece of information, which could clarify the question of interest to us: «What was the reason that they left the Vizhai village so late?» And my searches have led to the desired result, I have managed to find this unknown engineer in the criminal case files.

The Protocol of interrogation of the witness Mikhail Timofeyevich Dryakhlykh, March 5, 1959

«On February 21, I was summoned to the CPSU City Committee by comrade I.S. Prodanov and told that a group of hikers is missing and it was necessary to search for them. On February 21, 1959, I, a student of the Polytechnic Institute (I do not know his name), the aircraft commander Spitsyn, and a navigator flew off on a „Yak“ airplane in the direction of the Vizhai village.»

A criminal case file, sheet 41

Yura Blinov was just that student, whose last name Dyakhlykh did not remember. And Deyakhlykh himself was just that engineer, who «procured a car for Dyatlov.» After I have found the engineer, it remained for me to clarify one important fact. To what extent were Dryakhlykh’s words about the car true?

The telegram of Rustem Slobodin, February 26, 1959

«Greetings to the native Sverdlovsk residents! Yesterday we safely reached the Vizhai village. Now we are driving to the starting point, the 2 ndSevernyi village by a special car.»

The telegram contains a very interesting information, which has not been paid due attention to before. It turned out that the hikers were not driving in an ordinary car, but «in a special car.» But looking at the broken car body, a fair question arises: «How was it different from other cars of those years to be called a special car?» And the answer to this important question was given by Yura Yudin.

The diary of Yura Yudin, January 26, 1959

«In the truck in which we came,3 movies were brought: «My Apprenticeship» by Gorki, «There is such a guy» and «Symphony in gold».

Now everything fell into a groove. Indeed, the car was ordinary, but due to the fact that it belonged to a cinema operator, it was called a special car, since it carried the equipment for the demonstration of feature films to the personnel of the 8 thCamp Department. Accordingly, the engineer Dryakhlykh, negotiated on the issue of a car not for the students, but for the needs of the Energolesokombinat, i.e. on the eve of the opening of the 21 stCongress of the CPSU, he wanted to show the feature films to the lumberjacks. And the next day, January 27, the cinema operator with the hikers would have continued on to the 2 ndSevernyi village. That was why, comrade Khakimov said that the Dyatlov group was taken by the car to the Severnyi village on January 27. But this information did not fully correspond to reality, since the car with the movie operator, indeed, continued its movement, but without the hikers. And why this happened, I will tell you, but not in this chapter, since now we are talking about something completely different, namely of the Severnyi mine.

One fact, moreover, a controversial one, cannot be a 100% guarantee that a certain settlement was actually located behind the 2 ndSevernyi village. Therefore, we had to look for more compelling evidence of the existence of the Severnyi mine. And, strange as it might sound, such information was in the criminal case files, rather than somewhere in the secret archives.

The Protocol of interrogation of the witness Mikhail Timofeyevich Dryakhlykh, March 5, 1959

«On February 21, 1959, a student of the Polytechnic Institute, (I do not know his name), the aircraft commander Spitsyn and a navigator flew off on an „Yak“ airplane in the direction of the Vizhai village, thence up the Lozva river through the 41 stKvartal, the 2 ndSevernyi village, the Severnyi mine to the mouth of the Auspiya river, up along the Auspiya river. Then returned back through the 2 ndSevernyi village and the 41 stKvartal.»

A criminal case file, sheet 41

2-ой Северный рудник – The 2 ndSevernyi mine. Северный рудник – The Severnyi mine.

Coming from the Protocol of interrogation of the witness Dryakhlykh, it turns out that the Severnyi mine was located between the 2 ndSevernyi village and the mouth of the Auspiya river, but away from the Lozva river. The thing was that the plane flew in one direction over the road, and back over the Lozva river. That is why in one case the Severnyi mine is mentioned, and in the other case not. And it remains to find out where this unknown settlement was approximately located.

Radiogram No. 26. Received by Temnikov. To Sulman

«We are in 6—10 km from the mouth of the Auspiya river. In the village at the mouth of the Auspiya river the tracks of narrow sports skis were found. The ski trail was quite well-trodden, there were many people, 8—10 persons. The tracks are old. Nevolin.»

A criminal case file, sheet 143

Устье Ауспии – The mouth of the Auspiya river. Санно-оленья тропа – The deer-and-sledge trail. Северный рудник – The Severnyi mine.

Based on the radiogram, the village was located 6—10 km from the mouth of the Auspiya river. And although Nevolin did not indicate the name of the settlement, it was clearly referred to the Severnyi mine, since there were no other settlements in that area. Having compared all available facts, I began to search for the Severnyi mine. And I have found only one place in the maps, which fully corresponded to the available information. This is the height «297 (296.4)». It was located about 7 km from the mouth of the Auspiya river, if you move along the deer-and-sledge trail, which is indicated in the old maps. In addition, based on the modern satellite maps, an abandoned road from the 2 ndSevernyi village to this height was visible.

After the Severnyi village was found, it was possible to start analyzing a very important document, which, undoubtedly, was «The hiking route by days», compiled by the student of the Ural Polytechnic Institute, Dyatlov Igor Alekseyevich, back in December 1958. And there was something to disassemble, since the route, presented in this document did not correspond to reality for a number of reasons. And it was the Severnyi mine that put everything in its place. However, first things first.

The hiking route by days

«The 4 th – 5 thdays of the hike. The Vizhai village – the 2 ndSevernyi village, 55 km;

The 6 thday of the hike – — – — – — – — – — – — – — -;

The 7 th – 8 thdays of the hike. Up the Auspiya river, 38 km;

The 9 thday of the hike. A pass at the upper reaches of the Lozva river, 14 km;

The 10 thday of the hike. The ascent of the Mount Otorten, 20 km;

The 11 thday of the hike. The Mount Otorten – the upper reaches of the Auspiya river, 18 km».