Russia. A cold, hard place filled with colder, harder people. Specifically, you find yourself in a small, unnamed municipal on the north-western outskirts of Sverdlovsk Oblast, on the very precipice of the Siberian wilderness, as well at the base of the notorious Kholat Syakhl, the location of the infamous Dyatlov Pass Incident. The occurance of the mysterious deaths of nine ski hikers took place in the northern Ural Mountains on February 2, 1959. The experienced trekking group, who were all from the Ural Polytechnical Institute, had established a camp on the the slopes of Kholat Syakhl when disaster struck. During the night something made them tear their way out of their tents from the inside and flee the campsite inadequately dressed in heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures. Soviet investigators determined that six victims died from hypothermia but others showed signs of physical trauma. One victim had a fractured skull while another had brain damage but without any sign of distress to their skull. Additionally, a female team member had her tongue missing. The investigation concluded that an "unknown compelling force" had caused the deaths. Access to the region was consequently closed to hikers and expeditions for three years after the incident (the area is named Dyatlov Pass in honor of the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov). As the chronology of events remains uncertain due to the lack of survivors, several explanations have been put forward as to the cause; they include an avalanche, infrasound-induced panic, or military involvement. Fringe hypotheses include a hostile encounter with some violent entity or unknown creature. You, for whatever reason, have been drawn to this mystery, and are willing to go out of your way to find some answers. But what answers will you find? Is it all paranoia? Or is there something bigger at work, possibly beyond your own comprehension?
