In 1937, renowned British mountaineer Frank Smythe discovered and photographed a series of large, mysterious footprints in the snow while trekking at high altitude in the Himalayas. Smythe, who had summited Kamet in 1931 and participated in the 1933 Everest expedition, was an experienced and respected climber not given to sensationalism. He photographed the tracks, which showed clear impressions of a large, humanoid foot with distinct toes, and brought the photographs to the attention of the scientific community upon his return to England. The prints were found at an elevation where no known bipedal animal — human or otherwise — would typically be present. Smythe reported that his Sherpa companions identified the tracks as belonging to the Yeti without hesitation. The photographs were published in various newspapers and mountaineering journals, adding scientific credibility to the growing body of evidence for an unknown creature in the high Himalayas. Smythe's sighting came during a golden age of Himalayan exploration when British and European climbing expeditions were pushing into previously unvisited valleys and passes, and multiple expeditions returned with reports of unexplained footprints. The regularity of these discoveries by trained, rational observers gave the Yeti a degree of plausibility that few cryptids enjoy.
