The Last Yeti, Secrets of the Himalayas: Book by Christophe Hagenmuller

Is the Yeti a legend?

It took almost a century of passionate explorations. From fruitless searches before the legend of “theAbominable Snowman is finally clarified. In a new book that delves to the roots of the Yeti myth, Christopher Hagenmuller tells about this quest. And the story of a spectacular outcome to which he contributed by sharing images of a bewitching country and nature.

In Ladakh, the “Land of the High Passes”, and even more so in the ancient kingdom of Zanskar, the Herculean forces of Himalayan folding have shaped a harsh and austere natural environment. The violence of the elements inspired the beliefs of successive settlements in a myriad of divinities, demons and spirits distributed between the underground, terrestrial and celestial worlds.

Like their Tibetan cousins, the Ladakhis practice rites and traditions that reflect a deep spirituality imbued with fears and superstitions. Such a cultural and geographical context constitutes a particularly favorable breeding ground for the birth and propagation of myths such as that of the Yeti.

Journey to the Land of the Yeti

When I crossed the high valleys of Zanskar in the 90s, I did not know that I would contribute, after 25 years of wanderings, to lifting the veil on one of the greatest mysteries having agitated the scientific community for more than a century. It was children from a village lost in the mountains who first told me about the monster while observing the moon through my astronomical telescope.

I then set out on the trail of this Yeti. Summer and winter, well equipped for hiking in the lost valleys or up the famous frozen river. Pastoralists of yaks comforted me in my research which resulted, ten years later, thanks to an indiscretion of a monk of the monastery of Pukthal, in the discovery of a first Yeti. I brought samples back to Europe. It took me another dozen years to see the leg of a second specimen.

Large DNA studies on The Last Yeti

I then took part in the two largest DNA studies ever carried out on the Yeti and based on the latest advances in genetics.

In 2014 and 2017, the results published in an English international journal revealed the true nature of the “Abominable Snowman”. To build his family tree. And to put an end to almost a century of fruitless explorations and uncertain theories.

Discover the book “The Last Yeti, secrets of the Himalayas” by Christopher Hagenmuller

“The Last Yeti, Secrets of the Himalayas” is the story of this quest that began at the beginning of the 20^th century until its scientific conclusion at the end of 2017. This book also pays tribute to the populations occupying these lands of legends and to their culture.

Book Available for sale on the online store of the Le Yeti store

Christophe Hagenmuller is an engineer by training. Mountaineer, ski mountaineer, mountain and nature photographer, ornithologist and ethnologist in his spare time. He created the collection of books “Les Plus Belles Traces” published by NaturAlpes and published four books on Beaufortain, Vanoise, Mont-Blanc and Aravis. Check it out on their site Altitude Lights.