Cross-country hiking is no joke, but take that and then add "in Russia" and "in the middle of winter" to it, and you're talking about something that is deadly serious. Literally, because people freeze to death in Russian winters all the time, and they're not even going out into it on purpose.

In January 1959, Igor Dyatlov, a college student, and his cadre of nine fellow hikers, all trained and experienced in outdoor activities, set out to cross Russia's Ural mountains in the coldest part of the year, according to the BBC. These were seasoned hikers who had successfully completed multiple similar hikes, and they came prepared.

With their knowledge and experience, they knew this hike wouldn't be a cakewalk either. They knew that mistakes could quickly mean death due to hypothermia, animal attacks, or falls and other kinds of accidents. Dyatlov specifically chose his team, mostly fellow students, because they had the skills to complete the expedition. And so, on Jan. 27, 1959, eight men and two women, all but one under the age of 25, set out from the city then known as Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) on a hike from which they'd never return. Their fate would still be unexplained over 60 years later.

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