Igor Dyatlov

Igor Dyatlov (Игорь Дятлов) was born on January 13th, 1937. 23 years old. Not married.

Igor Dyatlov was the group's leader. The name of the Dyatlov Pass and the whole incident is named after him. Igor Dyatlov was a student of the 5th Faculty of Radio Engineering UPI university. By all accounts he was a talented engineer. Her designed and assembled a VHF radio during his 2nd year in school, that was used during hikes in 1956 in Sayan Mountains. He also designed a small stove that was used since 1958 by Dyatlov himself. It was taken during the last trip since it proved its functionality. According to some sources Dyatlov was offered to stay in school and take the post of the deputy dean of the faculty.

People who knew Igor described him as a thoughtful man who never rushed with his decisions. He had great deal of experience in long distance hikes with variable degree of complexity. His decision to establish a tent on the side of the Kholat Syakhl mountain was a calculated one. He knew of the difficulty sleeping on the open surface without protection of trees, but he felt that the group needed some practice before climb of the final Otorten mountain.

He courted Zina Kolmogorova who also took part of the hike. Apparently she liked him as well. Igor Dyatlov was one of the most experienced athletes in the group who also traced the path of the group.

Body of Igor Dyatlov was found on February 26, 1959. He was lying on his back, his hands embracing a small tree trunk. He managed to walk 300 meters from the fire under the cedar in a futile attempt to reach the tent. Official conclusion of his death is hypothermia (freezing) without internal or external damage to the body. There is a version that his mild traumatic brain injury was due to tiredness and exhaustion. It could also be due o convulsions before his death.

Igor Dyatlov was buried in a former Sverdlovsk, today Yekaterinburg at the Michaylovsky (Saint Michael) Cemetery.

It should be noted that Dyatlov was obsessed with the Mansi culture and language. He even created his own dictionary of Mansi Russian words. Let me know if you want to me to post the entire dictionary.

Last letter sent my Igor Dyatlov on January 26th right before his departure. He informs his friends about upcoming journey and promises to return from a trip on February 12- 15