abominable snowman or yeti [key], humanlike creature so named because it is associated with the perpetual snow region of the Himalayas. A figure unknown except through tracks ascribed to it and through alleged encounters, it is described as being 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) tall and covered with long, dark hair. Attempts after the 1950s to verify the authenticity of its tracks (notably by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1960) have yielded no conclusive results. Most scientists dismiss the existence of the creature; some advocates have suggested it may be a kind of ape. Supposed hair and other samples that have had their DNA tested have been found to be from known animal, primarily bear, species; some samples were from ancient polar bears, which has contributed to speculation that the creature might be an unknown bear species. A somewhat similarly described creature of W North America is known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch.
See R. Messner, My Quest for the Yeti (tr. 2000).
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