Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Nonfiction Bestseller that explores the gripping Dyatlov Pass incident that took the lives of nine young Russian hikers in 1959.

What happened that night on Dead Mountain?

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the mountain climbing incident--unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes--have led to decades of speculation over the true stories and what really happened.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident delves into the untold story through unprecedented access to the hikers' own journals and photographs, rarely seen government records, dozens of interviews, and author Donnie Eichar's retracing of the hikers' fateful journey in the Russian winter.

An instant historical nonfiction bestseller upon its release, this is the dramatic real story of what happened on Dead Mountain.

GRIPPING AND BIZARRE: This is a fascinating portrait of young adventurers in the Soviet era, and a skillful interweaving of the hikers' narrative, the investigators' efforts, and the author's investigations. Library Journal hailed "the drama and poignancy of Eichar's solid depiction of this truly eerie and enduring mystery."

FOR FANS OF UNSOLVED MYSTERIES: Unsolved true crimes and historical mysteries never cease to capture our imaginations. The Dyatlov Pass incident was little known outside of Russia until film producer and director Donnie Eichar brought the decades-old mystery to light in a book that reads like a mystery.

FASCINATING VISUALS: This well-researched volume includes black-and-white photographs from the cameras that belonged to the hikers, which were recovered after their deaths, along with explanatory graphics breaking down some of the theories surrounding the mysterious incident.

Perfect for:

  • Fans of nonfiction history books and true crime
  • Anyone who enjoys real-life mountaineering and survival stories such as Into Thin Air, Buried in the Sky, The Moth and the Mountain, and Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
  • Readers seeking Cold War narratives and true stories from the Soviet era

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Published Oct 21, 2014

288 pages

Average rating: 7.64

120 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

BMC
Mar 12, 2025
6/10 stars
I really enjoyed the storylines of the hikers and the searchers, but I didn't connect with the author's story. It pulled me out of the narrative. I did enjoy the ending where the author covered possible theories and recreated the hikers' final day.
Hartfullofbooks
Dec 31, 2025
8/10 stars
Eichar explores the Dyatlov case first hand by reviewing journals, speaking to experts, survivors, and even travels to the exact location where the hikers’ remains were found. Eichar includes photos, journals, interviews, and his own theories in this book and it was fascinating. He debunks a lot of the most popular theories with facts and research and proposes one of his own, but also admits that without any witnesses to corroborate what happened that night all we can really do is speculate. If you’re interested in the Dyatlov case this is a great book to read with actual facts and accounts from those closest to the hikers.
Red-Haired Ash Reads
Nov 18, 2025
8/10 stars
Before picking up this book, I had never heard of this incident and had no idea about all the controversy around what might have happened to these nine hikers. Eichar weaves together his journey to uncover the mystery of this incident with the hikers' accounts to create a very interesting and captivating look at what might have happened in the Dyatlov Pass. This was all new information for me so I was pretty hooked to this story from the beginning. I found Eichar’s writing to be very easy to read and follow and his narration of the book was also fantastic. This incident initially just seems like nine hikers who died of hypothermia but it quickly becomes so much more as the investigation continued and more clues were found around and on the bodies. Like I said, I was hooked. While there is still no clear explanation for what happened to these hikers and why they left their tent at night with no gear, I found Eichar’s investigation to be pretty thorough and insightful. He goes about eliminating all the possibilities that have been presented to him during the course of the investigation and stumbles upon the possibility of Karman Vortex being the cause. This is something I had never heard of before and was fascinated to learn how it might have caused the hikers to be scared and disoriented enough to leave their tent. Overall, this was just a throughout and well presented look at the Dyaltov incident. I learned a lot about this case and all the conspiracies surrounding it.
S.Head
Jan 07, 2025
9/10 stars
I really enjoyed this book. I had very basic knowledge of this event before reading it. But how the author tells this story is fantastic. 3 different view points and in a way that is very easily read and not dense like some nonfiction can be.
tkatz1317
Aug 02, 2024
9/10 stars
I love the approach - how the story is told from 3 perspectives: the hikers, the search teams and investigators, and the author on their journey. Great way to present the mystery

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