Forensic constraints on the tent-site trauma in the Dyatlov incident: physiological incompatibility of the slab avalanche model with 1959 autopsy and testimony data

Gaume and Puzrin (2021) proposed that a delayed slab avalanche at the tent site caused severe but non-lethal injuries to the Dyatlov group, compelling them to descend ~1.5 km downslope to the forest.

Using exclusively the 1959 autopsy reports and the sworn testimony of forensic examiner B.A. Vozrozhdenniy, combined with standard trauma physiology (ATLS) and a validated empirical off-road walking-speed model (Wood et al. 2023), we show that the documented survival windows and functional capacities are incompatible with the proposed sequence.

- Dubinina died within 10–20 min from Class III haemorrhagic shock (massive bilateral haemothorax). - Thibeaux-Brignolle was immediately unconscious and unable to move voluntarily (comminuted basilar skull fracture). - Zolotaryov had a flail chest with ~1 L haemothorax, physiologically incompatible with sustained locomotion.

The minimum descent time for an uninjured group on the documented snow surface (heavy-obstruction, mean slope –9.4°) is 20–21 min. The 1959 search record shows 8–9 sets of normal walking footprints with no evidence of dragging or carrying.

The slab avalanche model therefore contains an internal methodological inconsistency when reconciled with the contemporaneous forensic evidence.

This preprint was submitted as a Matters Arising to Communications Earth & Environment and was not accepted for publication. It is made publicly available to contribute to open scientific discussion.