The Answer to the Miracle of Devil's Pass

On the evening of November 9th, 1965, a man was found wandering aimlessly south of the foot of Snezhnaya Mountains. He was underdressed for the -50C weather, only wearing a shirt and his vest, his scarf and hat missing. The next day, it was found that this man was William Smith, a humble English teacher who took hiking as a hobby that had been training for the Annual Race to Snezhnaya's Peak. He was reported missing by his wife after he was supposed to give his paranoid family a phone call at noon. 

Authorities rushed him to the hospital before he could succumb to his hypothermia. After staying with the hospital's care for a week, Smith left and went back to his family, not saying a single word about what has happened during his 24-hour ordeal in Devil's Pass. The media has pressed him and his family about the matter, dubbing his survival an "escape from hell", flocking the gates of the Smiths' private home because their curiosity got the better of them. 

Why were they so anxious to know the answer to this miracle? 

Located north of Zapolyarny, The Devil's Pass (locally called Novokribirsk) is known as the deadliest mountain section in the world and is strongly discouraged to take whenever one wishes to scale the Snezhnaya. The massif's highest peak stands at 8,091m stretches over 55km has a fatality rate of 33%. It was only in 1972 that the Devil's Pass was conquered. Before 1972, it was known as a honey trap to aspiring hikers who dreamt of being renowned, only to fall like Icarus.

If during his time, this was known as a ticket to the Underworld, why would a feeble man like William Smith even dare try to scale the unclimbable? 

The following is an excerpt from one of the few interviews Smith had agreed to take with reporter Elliot Smith from TCG news in 1968:

The public jeered at Smith for his naivete once this interview was released. The Smiths had thought the media has laid off them, but they wanted more answers. Because Elliot had left out the answer the people wanted to know: how?

Smith never revealed the details of how he escaped the freezing depths of despair in that interview. Conspiracy theories were beginning to spur out of control. Some said he was coerced by the Soviets, seeing something he shouldn't have seen. Some don't take it seriously, saying that this was proof the Abominable Snowman exists. The remarks of the public got out of hand, going to the extent of asking why would someone like him be kept alive. Perhaps this type of humiliating publicity was fraying William Smith's nerves.

Oddly enough, his family mentioned he was acting extremely calm despite the scrutiny that was laid upon them. What drove him to release a second statement was after someone had thrown a huge rock at their home, crashing on his daughter's bedroom window. His interview with Wilma Pegg was fueled with fury and less rationality:

"If you want to know, then fine. Nothing happened. Unfortunately, this is not the story you were hoping to hear. Not like how the media glamorized to be, not like those things you see in Hollywood. I was surprised about this myself. Absolutely nothing happened. I can withstand being the object of entertainment, make fun of me all you want, but please leave my family out of this."

Though his outcry had sparked criticism from people, it was a wake-up call for those who realized how insensitive others have been treating the Smith family. The pressure to know the truth died down a bit, but those who refused to believe him began acting suspicious of Smith's actions. They were convinced that something had happened.

In 1984, podcast host Tyler Joplin had an interview with an anonymous person on the phone, claiming he knew what happened on November 9th. The man claimed that Smith had murdered his younger sister Avery, who had also disappeared that same day.

This conversation that played out at 6:17 pm had turned the lives of the Smiths again. This new information confounded the public, taking the side of the anonymous tip. Daphne Smith claimed the name Avery did get a reaction out of her uncle. The accusations never stopped, and their peace was disrupted once again.

Two years later, William Smith died from complications from tuberculosis at the age of 63. It was ridiculous how people were rejoicing about his death on the street. How outrageous. His family was furious, but they didn't have the evidence to defend him, as he also never really said anything to them.

Thus, the secret died with him.

On December 12, 2015, the Grayson hiking group became the third to ever scale Devil's Pass. Many were wounded because of an avalanche, leading them to seek shelter in a cave that had been inhabited before. There were conversations etched on the walls, one strikingly said

It was then and there that the hikers pieced together the full story of the Miracle of Devil's Pass. Avery Jameson and William Smith take the road to Snezhnaya, but Avery goes up the mountain first and is stranded. Smith followed and gets caught in the avalanche, and is stranded along with Avery. Smith did everything he could to save Avery but was about to succumb to hypothermia. Smith had to leave her behind, as he was about to fall prey to the cold too, but still miraculously escaped the cave, nothing saved him but the snow. Why he kept Avery a secret is still a mystery even his family couldn't solve.

I hope this explanation would help put his soul to rest. This nonsense has been going off far too long. Whether you choose to believe me is up to you. It is upsetting that many questions are still unanswered, but I hope this puts some things at ease.