Teodora's cedar

05-08-2022

August 11, 2019

Cedar Core from the old cedar

August 6, 2022

FT1 Fallen tree near the cedar (diameter) - 35cm at 1,3m from the roots, H (height) - 10,95m the preserved part of the trunk.
Cedar: (trunk) overgrown with moss, blueberries, birch shoots, mountain ash.
The center of the core is rotten, there is preserved wood near the surface.

Riabina 1 core from mountain ash №1, taken 50cm from the roots on the north side of the trunk, tree is 7m east of the old cedar.

Riabina 2 core from mountain ash №2 6-7 m from the first mountain ash: core from live mountain ash №2.

Riabina 3 core from dead mountain ash №3 - partially alive, there is a side shoot alive.

11 августа 2019

Cedar Керн от старого кедра

6 августа 2022

FT1 Поваленное дерево у Кедра d (диаметр) - 35см на высоте 1,3м, H (высота) - 10,95м сохранившейся части ствола.
Кедр: (ствол) зарос мхом, черникой, поросль березы, рябина.
Сердцевина керна сгнила, есть сохранившаяся древесина у поверхности.

Riabina 1 керн с рябины №1, с северной стороны, h 50см в 7м от старого кедра, к востоку от него.

Riabina 2 керн с рябины №2 в 6-7м от первой рябины: керн с живой рябиной №2.

Riabina 3 керн с мёртвой рябины №3 - живая частично, есть боковой побег живой.

Prof. Momchil Panayotov is a member of the Dendrology department of University of Forestry, Sofia, Bulgaria. The gist is that the dead cedar's last discernible ring is from 1948, although we could be missing some material that rotted on the outer side of the trunk, which could translate to years. The second important observation is that the tree is completely rotten in the middle. The tree could have stopped forming rings but stood until it fell from the harsh weather. This could have happened in 1958-59 according to the expert. He can't tell when exactly it hit the ground. The mountain ash clearly showed that something happened to it in 1959. Camping always leaves traces on the trees. We could find the Dyatlov group campsite on this horrific night, as well as the geologists' camp which must have been nearby. The last reassuring news is that due to the cold climate trees in Ural can be preserved on the ground for centuries.

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Screenshots for Part 2

Fallen cedar (FT1)

Riabini (рябины, mountain ash) 1, 2 и 3

Trees typical for the area

According to case files 341-343 the den was made from 14 fir tree and 1 birch tops. Yuri Yudin later noticed the discrepancy that there were only spruce trees that were cut near the den. Another strange fact is that there is no mentioning of a knife found at the scene, only a bakelite sheath, but the tree tops were cut. In Lev Ivanov's resolution to close the case it says "Near the bodies, Krivonischenko's knife was found, which cut off the young firs near the fire." Finding a knife is not documented anywhere and is not reflected in any of the memories of search participants. The same Krivonischenko's knife was not presented to relatives and was not returned to them. Unlike all other knives of the group.

Typical mounting of the tent the Dyatlov group were carrying. Assembled from two old tents stitched together, it was all riddled with holes from the very beginning. The stove used only for warming needed additional rope to be suspended inside the tent. The tarpaulin was burned with many wholes from the sparks that came out from the stove. Grigoriev writes: During the night, holes were added to the tent from the sparks. And in the sun they lit up like stars. The radioman, Nevolin, said "We have become a whole planetarium." None of this is described by Churkina, the expert who examined the tent, because she was asked very specific questions:1. Is Dyatlov group tent cut? 2. If yes, are the cuts made from inside or outside?

Pitching the tent on a treeless slope

Dyatlov took part on this trek in 1958 in the Subpolar Urals. If you are going to spend the night away from the treeline you need to carry firewood and pitch the tent while securing it to something that simulates the trees in the forest e.g. additional side ropes on skis. On the fateful night the Dyatlov group did not have firewood and did not secure the tent against the strong wind that is always blowing on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl, hence the name Dead Mountain. Otorten means the Windy Mountain. Why do this if there are trees one hour behind you and one hour ahead of you?

What you don't see is just as important as what you can see. The tree that killed them is already under the snow. It definitely fell before the photos were taken. My goal is to prove that this tree died simultaneously with the Dyatlov group. The bodies were staged days before they were officially found, while the tree had been under the snow for a month.

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