On February 2, 1959, a group of ski hikers led by Igor Dyatlov [ru] mysteriously perished on the east shoulder of Kyolat Syakhl (not Otorten, as is sometimes erroneously reported).

This Dyatlov Pass incident is the main reason that people outside the immediate area in Russia have heard of this remote peak.

The name of this mountain simply meant a "lack of game"[citation needed] for native Mansi hunters.

The word kholat (meaning "death") is a relatively common placename element within Mansi territory, and it is a part of at least 3 other local geographic names.

In Russian, the Mansi name can be translated as myórtvaya vershína (мёртвая вершина), literally "dead peak".