In Search of the Yeti

Searching the Slopes

It’s not often that one gets to see the objects of ancient myths, and how many people do you know that have seen the Yeti, the Loch Ness monster or a flying spaceship? But wouldn’t it be an exciting addition to a Himalayan tour, if you saw even the footprint of the Abominable Snowman? Since the 18th century, sightings of the Yeti have been reported by Himalayan hikers, and many are convinced that this legend lives in reality.

The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman as it is so often named, is said to be an Ape-like creature living in the Himalayan region of Tibet and Nepal. Adventurous tourists on holiday in the Himalayas frequently roam the mountains in search of this creature, but no conclusive evidence has yet been found to confirm its existence.

Strange Sightings in the Snow

One of the first documented sightings of the Yeti was that of B. H. Hodgson in the early 19th century. The men that were guiding him on a Himalayan tour in Nepal, spotted a tall, hairy, bipedal creature which fled from them in fear. Hodgson did not see the Yeti himself, but he took it upon himself to deem the animal an orang-utan.

Later in the century, in 1889, Laurence Waddell documents seeing footprints in the snow in his book Among the Himalayas. While he only saw footprints, his guides described sighting an ape-like creature near their camp. Applying similar thinking to Hodgson, Waddell concluded that the creature was a bear. While on holiday in the Himalayas, you could visit these regions known for their popular sightings, and possibly see the footprints yourself.

Reported sightings increased in the 20th century, because Westerners were determined to see the creature for themselves, and so were going on holiday in the Himalayas and on Himalayan tours in the hopes of spotting this mythical being.

A Royal Geographic Society photographer, Tombazi, claimed to have observed the creature for over a minute. His reports give account of a human-like creature walking upright and with no clothes. Later in the century, a man called Eric Shipton photographed some footprints in the snow, and some claim that these are the best supporting evidence documented to date.

While on a Himalayan tour, British mountaineer Don Whillans claimed to have witnessed a creature walking near his camp. He watched the creature through binoculars for over 20 minutes, and was also able to document footprints. Over 50 years later in 2007, television presenter Joshua Gates found footprints while on holiday in the Himalayas. He arranged for casts to be made of these 33cm long footprints. These were then scientifically analysed, and it was concluded that the footprints did not belong to any known animal.

Possible Explanations

The question of the Yeti’s existence has sparked widespread debate among scientists, biologists and tourists on holiday in the Himalayas. The fact is that no evidence has been found to conclude that the Yeti is real, but similarly experts cannot come up with a conclusive explanation for the many sightings.

Some put it down to simple misidentification, claiming that it is nothing more than a Tibetan or Himalayan bear. Some postulate that it could even be a human hermit! Another explanation is that it is a surviving gigantopithecus (an extinct species of ape). This theory, however, is even more unlikely than the existence of a mysterious beast, because it was a quadruped (an animal which naturally walks on all fours) and would have had great difficulty in walking upright.

Whatever you believe, a holiday in the Himalayas might prove to have an exciting twist, and you could be converted into being an avid supporter of the existence of the Yeti, if you see it one day on a Himalayan tour.

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