In the fall of 1951, while scouting routes for a future ascent of Mount Everest, British mountaineers Eric Shipton and Michael Ward stumbled upon a series of large, humanoid footprints in the snow near the Menlung Glacier. Intrigued, Shipton photographed one of the clearest impressions, placing an ice axe beside it for scale, a move that would immortalize the image and spark decades of speculation.

The footprint appeared to be 13 inches long, with a distinct big toe and arch, resembling a human foot but far larger and broader. The clarity of the print, combined with its remote location and the credibility of the expedition team, gave the photo immediate notoriety. It was published in Popular Science in 1952 and quickly became a focal point in the growing Western fascination with the Yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman.

While Ivan Sanderson was not the first man to chase after cryptids, he was the man who named the field that we all dabble in.

He and fellow zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans defined the actions of scattered peoples in the 1950s, gathering the idea into a name: Cryptozoology - the study of hidden animals. This concept encompasses both the "folklore creatures" such as sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster, and the animals considered extinct and perhaps also folklore.  The term 'cryptid' is said to have been coined by J. E. Wall in 1983, meaning a living thing having the quality of being hidden or unknown.

It was said the multi-millionaire Wally Hersom (BRFO backer) and Matt Moneymaker (BRFO and Finding Bigfoot) were granted exclusive access to the full-length footage.

On March 18, 1987, there was a seven-man crew working outdoors in the cold and frozen wilderness near Fellers Heights, British Columbia. Four of the men called attention to something they saw on the outskirts of their worksite. They described a creature that was 7 ft tall, maybe 400 lbs. A monster.

Myles Jack, one of the workers, said: "But it was a real mover. It was really fluid in the way it moved." The creature was crouched down for part of the time, seeming to watch the men as they worked. When it circled the work site, it would peer at them through the trees, still watching them work. "It was like we were on his territory and he was checking us out."

While it was not research, the Russian army and this officer had an extraordinary encounter with a creature called Almasty. There seem to be several versions of what happened in 1925 and I will tell them all.

Major General Mikhail Stephanovitch Topilski was the commander of a cavalry regiment in the Red Army during the Civil War after the Communist Revolution of 1917. In 1925, he and his men were given the task of hunting down anti-Communist forces in the Pamir Mountains southwest of the Tien Shan. They encountered more than just fighting men.

Many independent researchers made their way into the remote areas of Russia; some with the intention of studying the strange man-like, hairy creatures, and others who ran across them while traveling or while conducting their other research.

K.A. Satunin was a leading student of vertebrates in the Caucasus. He had an accidental encounter in the Talyish Mountains. He discovered a female "Biaban-Guli", which was the name used by the southern Caucasus people. When he reached a nearby settlement, he tried to obtain more information on these hairy, man-like animals who appeared unable to speak.

When most people think of the possibility of sasquatch-type creatures on the other side of the world, they immediately think of "Yeti." However, there is much more information out there by the Russians than anything from the Himalayas. The only problem is that not much of it is widely publicized in English.

There are some publications and some authors that will publish translations. And with internet programs available that will translate, if the material is on the internet, you can get some idea of what is being said.

When men first began to encounter strange "creatures" in the forests and grasslands, they called them "Wild Men". Experiences with these "Wildmen" occur throughout history. Even talked of in classical and preclassical times.

There was almost a romance to the "wildness" of these men. A wildness that called to the hearts of all men, a freedom of the soul, that releases something inside us even today. In the tales, we are warned of this wildness, as it would overtake us. Consume us. Take us away from civilization.

John Green made many contacts who shared the stories they heard in their areas with him. Two of them for the Vancouver area were Bruce McKelvie and Charles Cates.

Bruce Mckelvie was a journalist and historian, who spent time listening to the stories told by the people in the area. He was known to keep silent if asked to and never told of the secret encounters. Charles Cates, Mayor of North Vancouver, also collected stories of these creatures. Both of these men recorded these tales long before anyone thought to keep any sort of systematic records. Unfortunately, most of what they knew was lost when they died in the late 1950s.

In the annals of American Cryptids, few creatures have captured the public's imagination quite like Bigfoot, the elusive giant said to roam the remote forests of North America. Two figures stand out in the early days of Bigfoot lore: journalists Andrew Genzoli and Betty Allen of the Humboldt Times.

    

"I heard this ungodly sound coming from the woods". In 1979, a family in Kinderhook, NY, began having strange encounters with unknown creatures. The Hallenbecks stated that over three years, there were several instances where they have been visited, virtually terrorized, by a creature they claim to be Bigfoot. Three generations had terrifying run-ins with a large, hairy beast in the woods around their home. "It just seemed like whatever this was, just kind of showed up here," stated Bruce Hallenbeck. Mysterious occurrences that all point to one outrageous explanation. "I didn't really expect that a Bigfoot-type creature would show up literally in my backyard," said Hallenbeck.

"A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth." - Wikipedia

"A humorous or malicious deception." - Bing hh

"Something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage; the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)." - Free Dictionary.

"A label freely thrown around the Bigfoot Community to discredit those who post theories, 'evidence', discoveries, suggestions, etc. that do not correspond with the 'Inner circle' views or that come from any 'Outsider'." - Nancy Marietta

Hans Schiltburger (mentioned briefly in part one) was a Bavarian nobleman who is known for the oldest written reference to Asian wild men (so far). His book was written in the 1430s.

Hans was unfortunate enough to be captured during a battle by Mongols of the Golden Horde. A merchant named Egidi bought him from the soldiers as a slave.  He traveled extensively throughout the conquered lands of the Golden Horde for several years until he eventually returned to Europe. There he was sold to a Christian who then set him free, enabling Hans to return to his home. It was there he wrote his memoirs including his experiences with the 'wild men'.

Whether you like or despise the Mountain Monsters TV show, it is always interesting to look for the facts behind the story told on screen.

In one episode, the AIMS crew set out for Washington County in Pennsylvania. According to the team, this bigfoot was said to possess extreme speed and strength. This Shawnee Indian legend was said to have first come to light in the 1700s.