Tenzing and Tensing's Yeti Sightings

The Legend:
In 1949, Sherpa Tenzing said he had seen a Yeti (the legendary hairy wildman of the Himilayas) playing in the snow near a monastery. Tenzing was later to share the fame with Sir Edmund Hillary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest.

Variations
In his book The Six Mountain-Travel Books, Eric Shipton tells of finding the now-famous yeti prints he photographed; however, he also tells this little tale [Pg. 621]:

"Sen Tensing, who had no doubt whatever that the creatures (for there had been at least two) that had made the tracks were "Yetis" or wild men, told me that two years before, he and a number of other Sherpas had seen one of them at a distance of about 25 yards at Thyangboche. He described it as half man and half beast, standing about five feet six inches, with a tall pointed head, its body covered with reddish brown hair, but with a hairless face. When we reached Katmandu at the end of November, I had him cross-examined in Nepali (I conversed with him in Hindustani). He left no doubt as to his sincerity. Whatever it was that he had seen, he was convinced that it was neither a bear nor a monkey, with both of which animals he was, of course, very familiar."

The Shipton discovery occured in October 1952, so 'two years before' puts this account as happening sometime in 1950. That fact coupled with the similarity of names between Sen Tensing and Tenzing Norgay leads me to wonder if these aren't the same story. I'll continue to investigate.

Sources:

• Six Mountain-Travel Books, The, Eric Shipton, 1985 Diadem Books Ltd. [London] & The Mountaineers [Seattle].
• Strange & Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century, Jenny Randles, 1994 Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

See Also:

• General Article: The Alma or Yeti: Wildmen of Asia.