Nonfiction Annotation: Dead Mountain

Author: Donnie Eichar

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

Genre: Non Fiction

Publication Date: October 22, 2013

Number of Pages: 288

Geographical Setting: Northern Ural Mountains in Russia

Time Period: 1959, 2010s

Synopsis

In January-February 1959, nine friends attempted to hike the northern Ural Mountains in Russia. Even though they were young college students, they were all rather experienced hikers. The group never returns. A large search party is sent to the mountains to find the group. The group members are eventually found dead. 

The mystery begins once the hikers are found. The tent appears to have been cut from the inside out. The hikers were found in different spots and appeared to be fleeing the tent. Some of the hikers had no shoes and many of them were not dressed to be out amongst the elements. One of the female hikers’ tongue was missing, and family members of the deceased mentioned that their loved ones’ skin appeared to be darker, discolored. The official report stated that their deaths were caused by “an unknown compelling force.” 

Donnie Eichar, a director and producer, heard about this story, became intrigued, and began to reinvestigate the case. His investigation takes him to Russia where he learns much more about the incident and meets a few people who help further his investigation, including one of the hikers who left the trip right before the group got to the mountains. He also attempts the last hike of the group. 

Eichar tries his hardest to piece together the clues and come to a conclusion. With the group’s diary entries, photos, and interviews with people who knew them, the reader gets a sense of who these young hikers were. Will we ever know what really happened to the hikers?

Characteristics of Nonfiction

• The writing covers real events that took place in the past.
• The author uses personal experiences, diaries, photos, and interviews to tell the story. These additions give readers a fuller sense of who the hikers were.
• Official reports and science are referenced throughout the story. These aspects do not bog the story down, but enhance the bizarreness of this true story.
• The story is rather fast paced; the reader wants to keep reading to find out more.
• The wirting is highly narrative and teaches readers about mountaineering accidents and their possible causes including infrasound.

Dead Mountain Read-a-likes

• Ghost Ship by Brian Hicks
• Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
• Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
• Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall
• Shattered Air by Bob Madgic

Author Read-a-Likes

• Jon Krakauer
• Joe Simpson
• Thomas F. Hornbein
• Lene Gammelgaard
• Helen Thayer

Thoughts

While I generally love nonfiction, this is the type of nonfiction I really enjoy. Weird, paranormal mysteries are right up my reading alley. I was one of those kids who went straight to the UFO section in the library. This story is like a real-life X-Files case. Eichar comes up with a plausible scenario for what happened to the hikers, but I think we will never completely know what happened. It’s just such a strange story and Eichar does a good job telling it. The alternation between the hikers’ trip in 1959, the search in 1959, and Eichar’s trips to Russia worked quite well. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in real-life mysteries, the paranormal, and stories that are “out there.” I would also suggest it to those who are interested in mountaineering stories. I found the book pretty fast-paced and wasn’t weighted down with the scientific aspects. I thought the science was important to making the story feel more grounded and not just bizarre.