Charles Howard-Bury - 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition

1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition

At the behest or Sir Francis Younghusband in 1920, Howard-Bury successfully paved the way for the Everest Expedition. In 1921 he was the leader of the Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, organised and financed by the Mount Everest Committee, a joint body of the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society. In 1922 he wrote a full account of the expedition, published as "Mount Everest The Reconnaissance, 1921".

During the 1921 expedition Howard-Bury found many footprints at high altitude, he later pronounced that the tracks "were probably caused by a large 'loping' grey wolf", however his sherpas were quick to offer that they were the tracks of a "metch kangmi" (meaning "filthy snowman"). It was at this time that Henry Newman of The Statesman in Calcutta (now Kolkata) obtained descriptions from the expedition's porters on their return to Darjeeling. Bill Tilman writes in his book (see also ) that Newman mistranslated "metch kangmi" as "abominable snowman"; hence the phrase "Abominable Snowman" came into existence in 1921.

Later Newman wrote in a letter to The Times "The whole story seemed such a joyous creation I sent it to one or two newspapers". Izzard adds "whatever effect Mr. Newman intended, from 1921 onwards the Yeti - or whatever various native populations choose to call it - became saddled with the description "Abominable Snowman", an appellation which can only appeal more to the music-hall mind than to mammologists, a fact which has seriously handicapped earnest seekers of the truth"