For over 20 years Reinhold Messner has been obsessed with the secret of the Yeti, the Himilayan creature of legend, who in the West became infamously known as the abominable snowman. Rather than fruitless speculation, Messner - the first person to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and the first to climb all 14 of the world's tallest peaks - provides his own first hand account. He begins by recouting his own terrifying run-ins with the Yeti - while hiking alone in remote parts of Nepal - and how they led to his determination to solve their mystery through seubsequent expeditions. This is an account of a quest, taking readers on hair-raising climbs through Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Northern India, and even Tibet - where Messner was a fugitive from Chinese authorities.