The Crazy Story Of Edmund Hillary's Hunt For The Yeti

With funding secured and public excitement stoked, the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition, also known as the Silver Hut expedition, embarked on their adventure, per Frontiers in Physiology. The expedition stretched from September 1960 through June 1961. Members of the expedition assembled in the so-called "yeti stronghold" of the Rolwaling Valley near Kathmandu. A remote

With funding secured and public excitement stoked, the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition, also known as the Silver Hut expedition, embarked on their adventure, per Frontiers in Physiology. The expedition stretched from September 1960 through June 1961. Members of the expedition assembled in the so-called "yeti stronghold" of the Rolwaling Valley near Kathmandu. A remote location, it runs along the frontier between Nepal and Tibet (via One World Trekking), and it's got all the vibes you'd expect from a supposed abominable snowman hangout: isolation, snow, and rugged, ice-clad mountains.

The Sherpa refer to the Rolwaling Valley as "the grave," which had to give expedition members a warm, fuzzy feeling. To this day, the Rolwaling Valley trek remains one of the most challenging mountaineering experiences in Nepal, as reported by Mountain IQ. Why did the Silver Hut expedition settle on this location? Because it's where Eric Shipton captured his yeti footprints in 1951.

What else did the Silver Hut expedition know about the footprints? In his case report (via Science Direct), Dr. Michael Ward described two sets of tracks, one indistinct and the other more precise, which Shipton's expedition followed down a glacier. In the aftermath of the find, Ward noted, "There have been innumerable descriptions of unusual footprints found in the snows of the Himalaya and elsewhere; and bear tracks and bears have been seen, sometimes attacking Tibetan shepherds and yaks." Had the tracks been made by bears? The expedition dug in to find answers. 

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