Mountain of the Dead

In February 1959, 10 ski hikers set out to climb Russia’s mountain Kholat Syakhl (which ironically means “Mountain of the Dead.” One was forced to turn back a day in due to illness. The other nine were never seen alive again.

Now, alright, you’re probably thinking “People dying while climbing a mountain in Russia in the middle of winter? How is that strange?” Alright, killjoys, here’s the weird stuff: when investigators found the mountaineers’ camp site, it was in shambles, and the tent had been torn open FROM THE INSIDE. Footprints leading away from the site were left by people who were barefoot, wearing socks, or wearing only one shoe. The first two bodies found were beneath a large tree about a mile from the camp, dressed only in underwear. Three more bodies were discovered at varying distance between the tree and the camp, and appeared to have died while attempting to return to the camp. One had a fractured skull.

It took two months before the other four bodies were found in a ravine a few hundred feet from the tree where the first two bodies were found. They were wrapped in pieces of clothing belonging to other members of the group, leading investigators to believe these four had died last and had removed clothing from those previously deceased. Oh yeah, and this clothing? It was RADIOACTIVE.

Though these four bodies showed no outwards signs of trauma (meaning no bruises or scratches or horrific festering wounds) they all died of trauma, most notably major chest fractures. Doctors said that the force required to cause such fractures would be comparable to the force of a car crash. Remember, no external damage. Oh yeah, and one woman was missing her tongue. HER TONGUE.

The final verdict was that the group members died due to “compelling natural forces,” which sounds an awful lot like “we have so freaking idea what the heck happened here.”