Monday, April 4, 2011

National Geographic Channel Commissions Film on Yeti Myth



Dont Miss Today's Hunt for Yeti on National Geographic.Below is announcement fromWorldScreen.com

By Kristin Brzoznowski
Published: April 4, 2011
CANNES: National Geographic Channel has commissioned the hour-long Hunt for the Abominable Snowman from Atlantic Productions.

The film debuts today at 9 p.m. on National Geographic's Expedition Week, which runs until April 9. The hour-long feature follows adventurer Gerry Moffatt as he investigates the truth behind one of the most famous monster myths. Moffatt travels to meet eyewitnesses and uncover never-before-seen evidence about the existence of the creature.

Anthony Geffen, the CEO and executive producer at Atlantic Productions said: “This film is indicative of Atlantic being at the vanguard of high-quality science-based factual programming, which is both engaging and informative for international audiences. We are delighted to be producing another key special for National Geographic and that the film will premiere as part of their Expedition Week.”


EXTERNAL LINKS
NatGeo's Abominble Snowman Page
Idaho Mountain Express Article
Mr Abominable on Twitter

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NatGeo: Hunt for the Abominable Snowman April 4th
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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Pangboche Monastery Awaiting Yeti Hand

The Times of India has an article regarding the Pangboche Yeti Skull and Hand from the perspective of the Monastery. This is also somewhat of an update to our previous post, Yeti Hand Replica Delivered to Nepal.




'Yeti' lends helping hand to Nepal monastery again
KATHMANDU: It sounds like an implausible April Fool stunt but after almost a decade, a centuries-old Buddhist monastery struggling in the foot region of Mt Everest is now going to get a fresh lease of life, thanks to the yeti.

The Pangboche monastery, built around a rock in Khumbu in northern Nepal, called the gateway to the world's highest peak, survived for centuries on donations given by foreign trekkers and mountaineers who visited the over 600-year-old edifice lured by tales of it possessing the skull and a hand of the yeti, the legendary beast who inspired an expedition by Sir Edmund Hillary himself and was the subject of a book by another Everest hero, Reinhold Messner.

"I saw the skull and the hand in the late 1980s after I returned from New Zealand," says Ang Rita Sherpa, senior programme manager at The Mountain Institute that last year helped restore the crumbling down monastery with financial assistance from the US Ambassador's Fund. "Both were stolen in the early 1990s. After the monastery lost its main source of tourist attraction, it fell into hardship, barely able to sustain itself."

Now however, things are gong to change. Later this month, Hillary's fellow country man Mike Allsop, an "adventurer", guide and Everest summiter, will return to the forlorn monastery with a unique gift: a replica of the stolen hand and skull made by Weta Workshop, the five-time Oscar winning company that makes special effect props for the entertainment industry.

Allsop visited the monastery in 2007, the same year he conquered Mt Everest, and developed a special rapport with one of its venerable lamas. Moved by the plight of the monks on having lost their bread-earning artifacts, he decided to gift them a replica till his campaign – Return the hand – manages to trace the originals.

Were they really the hand and skull of the yeti? Many of the lamas and locals believe so. In 1950, explorer Peter Byrne and Hollywood actor James Stewart – he of such notable films as The Philadelphia Story, Rear Window, Rope and The man who knew too much -- visited the monastery and managed to take out one of the fingers. However, when they submitted it for tests, they proved inconclusive.

"We have heard of Allsop's plans though we are not in touch with him," Sherpa said. "While I would not comment on the authenticity of the originals, I am glad the monastery will have a source of income once more."


EXTERNAL LINKS
'Yeti' lends helping hand to Nepal monastery again

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Yeti Hand Replica Delivered to Nepal
New Search for Lost Yeti Artifacts of Nepal

Friday, April 1, 2011

NatGeo: Hunt for the Abominable Snowman April 4th



At National Geographic they are getting ready to kick off Expedition Week. On Monday (April 4th) of Expedition Week they are going to hunt for the Abominable Snowman. The description of the Episode is as follows:

Across the Himalayas are stories of the yeti, or abominable snowman. Half man, half ape, the yeti is said to roam only the most remote peaks, where people rarely venture. Now, veteran explorer and climber Gerry Moffatt sets out to find proof in a hunt that will test his stamina. As conventional scientific theories challenge ancient beliefs and credible witnesses, he works to separate fact from fiction and find hard evidence that the legend is real.


The embedded video below is directly from the site.



A staff writer, Sabina Dana Plasse, from the Idaho Mountain Express, interviewed Moffet and was able to get his perspective on the show.

"It's cool," Moffat said. "I didn't know if I wanted to do a show on the yeti, but it turned out to be an insight into the Sherpa culture. It's an amazing intricate culture that is still alive in the Himalayas. Searching for the yeti tells the story of these people's belief systems. The yeti is very much a part of their lives."

The idea of an abominable snowman, yeti or Bigfoot is a mystical one. "Hunt for the Abominable Snowman" explores and discovers why the mystical notion of these creatures is an intricate part of Himalayan culture.

"It's in their art and spiritual beliefs," he said. "It's similar to stumbling upon a church in Europe where you would find the bones of a saint."

Moffat said the most amazing discovery in his exploration was how the stories from Native Americans were exactly the same as those of people in the Himalayas even though neither group of people has any connection to the other.

"These people are separated by oceans and continents, but have identical stories to tell about a creature that lives in the wilderness and up in the mountains," he said.

Moffat's skepticism was met with never-before-seen evidence including a yeti scalp kept under lock and key at a remote Himalayan monastery and stories by eyewitnesses.

"The yeti scalp is not just a museum piece, it's a sacred object," he said. "We were following leads and went to the Everest region and to the Sherpa people, where various people have claimed to have encountered a yeti or knew someone who had. We married these stories with Western science and used top trackers and scientists and analyzed data as to what was fiction and what was real."


On top of all of this, National Geographic has made it possible to follow the Abominable Snowman on Twitter. His tweets can be found @MrAbominable

"I love snow and mountains, and hate when people try to take my picture. Fortunately I'm very good at keeping a low profile...except on Twitter!"

EXTERNAL LINKS
NatGeo's Abominble Snowman Page
Idaho Mountain Express Article
Mr Abominable on Twitter

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Pangboche Yet Skeletal "Hand" Delivered
New Search for Lost Yeti Artifacts of Nepal
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