Expedition to track down Snowman planned in Kemerovo Region

24 February 2009
ITAR-TASS World Service
English
(c) 2009 ITAR-TASS

KEMEROVO, February 24 (Itar-Tass) — An expedition to look for a Snowman or Yeti in the Mountain Shoria area (south of Kemerovo Region) is planned for June 2009, Itar-Tass learnt on Tuesday from expedition head and ethnographer of the Kemerovo State University Valery Kimeyev.

The expedition also includes Prof. Nikolai Skalov, zoology chair head of the Kemerovo State University.

Shoria shaman Mikhail Kiskorov claimed that he regularly saw a Snowman on Mt. Aigan. Kiskorov also agreed to participate in the expedition.

Local residents say that they saw a Snowman near the Azasskaya Cave, located in the taiga 80 kilometres from the district centre of Tashtagol and 500 kilometres from the regional administrative centre Kemerovo.

According to head of the Tashtagol district Vladimir Makuta, the local administration received 14 written letters from residents of some Shoria villages, who had allegedly seen a Snowman near the Azasskaya Cave as well as not far from the mountainous Mrassu River. The administration head claimed that the scientific expedition should either confirm or refute reports by local residents and huntsmen.

According to descriptions, these “human beings” are thick-set. They resemble a brown bear; foot fingers are clearly seen on snow; they are 1.5-2 metres high. These beings are covered with red-dark hair all over their bodies. They quickly climb trees. Local residents call them “dark people”.

According to locals, the Azasskaya Cave is several kilometres long. The picturesque riverlet Azas flows from the case, while the cave goes down under the bottom of the Mrassu River. Archaeologists found three settlements of the Bronze Age, located not far from the village of Ust-Kabyrza, as well as a unique settlement of ancient metallurgists. It was there that iron ore was processed in the epoch of the Middle Ages.