Abominable Snowman

Q: What is the Abominable Snowman?

The Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, is a legendary hairy, apelike being associated with the Himalayas near the snow line. Actual sightings are rare, but mysterious footprints in the snow have long been attributed to it. Some such tracks may instead have been produced by bears.

Q: How did the name “Abominable Snowman” originate?

The name arose after a 1921 British expedition near Mount Everest encountered unusual tracks. Sherpa guides attributed them to a creature called metoh-kangmi , but journalist Henry Newman mistranslated the term as “Abominable Snowman.” The phrase soon appeared in the British press and remained in popular use.

Q: What role does the Yeti play in Himalayan tradition?

Himalayan traditions describe the Yeti in several ways. Some accounts connect hairy forest beings with pre- Buddhist Bön beliefs and shamanic initiation. The Nepalese ban jhankri , for example, is a small forest shaman said to train prospective shamans, while other traditions describe larger, dangerous beings such as the nyalmo .

mythology

Also known as: Nee-gued, Yeti, bear-man

Written by

Urnesha Bhattacherjee

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 14, 2026 •History

What is the Abominable Snowman?

How did the name “Abominable Snowman” originate?

What role does the Yeti play in Himalayan tradition?

Abominable Snowman, mythical monster resembling a large, hairy, apelike being supposed to inhabit the Himalayas at about the level of the snow line. Though reports of actual sightings of such a creature are rare, certain mysterious markings in the snow have traditionally been attributed to it. Those not caused by lumps of snow or stones falling from higher regions and bouncing across the lower slopes have probably been produced by bears. At certain gaits, bears place the hindfoot partly over the imprint of the forefoot, thus making a very large imprint that looks deceptively like an enormous human footprint positioned in the opposite direction.

Origin of the name “Abominable Snowman”

The English name “Abominable Snowman” arose from press coverage of a British expedition to survey approaches to Mount Everest. In September 1921 the expedition, led by Lieut. Col. Charles Howard-Bury, encountered large tracks while crossing a high mountain pass. Howard-Bury later concluded that they had probably been made by a gray wolf whose overlapping paw prints in soft snow resembled those of a barefoot human. The expedition’s Sherpa guides, members of the Himalayan community long associated with mountaineering, offered a different explanation. They attributed the tracks to a kind of creature they called metoh-kangmi, a term Howard-Bury recorded imperfectly in his account. Working from this wording, journalist Henry Newman of The Statesman mistranslated the term as “Abominable Snowman.” The story spread through the press, and by October 31, 1921, the phrase Abominable Snowman had appeared in The Times, helping carry the name to a wider audience. Although the rendering was later recognized as a mistranslation, the term remained in popular use. The name Yeti derives from the Sherpa term yeh-teh, meaning “small manlike animal.”

The Yeti in Himalayan tradition

The Yeti occupies a more varied place in Himalayan tradition than the Western image of a snow-dwelling monster suggests. Anthropologist Larry G. Peters links some Yeti traditions to pre-Buddhist Bön beliefs about mountain and forest spirits and to stories of shamanic initiation. In Nepal, the ban jhankri, or “male forest shaman,” is described in some traditions as a small, hairy being who takes prospective shamans into forests or caves and teaches them. Other accounts describe much larger and more dangerous beings, including the nyalmo.