One unsolved mystery that has always fascinated me and I think centres around the existence of the Russian Bigfoot, known as the Menk or the Almasti, is the Dyatlov Pass Incident.This was an event in 1959 when nine young, but experienced, student Soviet hikers died in strange circumstances in the Ural Mountains. The incident is named after Igor Dyatlov, who was leading the expedition. One of the students photo-documented their journey up until their tragic end, and these photos have made the possible link between their deaths and the Russian Bigfoot.
This mysterious photo shown is one of the last taken by the fateful party and shows someone or something that was following them. It’s size and dimensions are ambiguous and could easily be interpreted as a creature rather than a human, but it is still very intriguing. The origins of the Russian yeti legend can be traced back to the indigenous Mansi people, who still live in the Ural Mountains. In their folklore, they speak of a hairy, wild man of the mountains. The Menk's description bears a striking resemblance to Bigfoot: large, bipedal, ape-like beings covered in hair. The forests and mountain ranges of Russia provide the perfect habitat for a creature like this to remain hidden.
All the bodies of group were found scattered and dead high on the side of a mountain known locally as ‘Dead Mountain’. Their tent had been ripped open from the inside, the group had fled from the tent on a freezing night, many without proper clothing or footwear, which indicated that they were running from something. The bodies showed injuries that could be attributed to an animal attack. Investigators could not put together the pieces of a very intriguing jigsaw puzzle.
There was speculation of an attack from the local Mansi tribe, who perhaps felt that the hikers had wandered onto sacred tribal ground. This was proven wrong.
There was a theory that prisoners had escaped from a nearby prison and attacked them. This was proven wrong.
There was a suggestion that it was a military cover-up after the hikers had witnessed secret missile testing. This was proven wrong.
The official Russian investigation concluded the cause of death was 'an overwhelming natural force' but provided no specific explanation, although it alluded to a possible avalanche and that the party had heard it and seen it coming and tried to outrun it.
With all the evidence, that also seems unlikely, and the slope of that mountain at the point where they pitched their tent does not seem to have the gradient to support such an avalanche.
The case continues to be investigated and pondered almost seventy years later.
Be a truth-seeker and see what you can find out and make up your own mind.