Yeti of the Forbidden Mountain

This article is about the yeti from Expedition Everest. For the yeti from Matterhorn Bobsleds, see Yeti of the Matterhorn.

The Yeti of the Forbidden Mountain
First Appearance	Expedition Everest
Attractions	Asia Camp Discovery Cross Country Creek Expedition Everest Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom) (referenced) Lamplight Lounge (likeness) Skipper Canteen (mentioned) Wilderness Explorers (attraction) Yak & Yeti Restaurant
Actor	Fred Tatasciore
Biographical Information
Alias	The Yeti Betty the Yeti Disco Yeti Guardian of the Forbidden Mountain
Alignment	Neutral
Physical Description
Species	Yeti
Eyes	Yellow

The Yeti of the Forbidden Mountain, known more simply as the Yeti is the central-antagonist of the attraction Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Description

It is unclear if the Yeti is of magical origin, nor if it is one yeti or a species of them. The yeti is 25 feet tall and covered in brown fur with blueish skin underneath. The yeti's hands have long claw-like fingernails while its feet are 44 inches long and have a thumb-like toe on the side, similarly to the feet of an orangutang. The yeti has large canines on its upper and lower jaws, reflective yellow tinted eyes, and a nose similar to that of a snub-nosed monkey. The yeti inhabits the Forbidden Mountain of the Himalayas.

History

Background

Origins

The yeti's origins are unknown. Throughout history, the yeti was presumably responsible for various attacks against those passing through the mountains. At some point, a temple was constructed near the village of Serka Zong in the kingdom of Anandapur to pay tribute to the creature along the path to the Forbidden Mountain. The earliest known reference to this yeti in history came in the 17th century when then maharajah of Anandapur, Parthiva Sankara Gavampati, had a sacred mandir paroda created to honour the yeti.

Historic Incidents

Prior to the aristocrat's death in 1899, evil explorer Harrison Hightower III of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers presumable attempted to locate the Yeti. The outcome of Harrison's search remains unknown, though he wrote a book on the subject titled, "Everest Expedition: In Search of the Yeti".

In the year 1930, a group known as the League of Adventurers tried to build an experimental, "Fixed Ropes Transit System" through the Forbidden Mountain in a project nicknamed, "Expedition Everest". The League was attacked by the yeti, though managed to take a photograph of the cryptid. The First International News newspaper published a story on this incident titled, "LoA's First fixed Ropes Traverse System Finds Yeti".

By around the early 1930s, the Royal Anandapur Tea Company had constructed a railway through the Forbidden Mountain for a tea-train route. The yeti would attack these tea trains and from 1933 to 1934, the attacks resulted in the tea company shutting down the railway.

Around 1938, Captain Mary Oceaneer (who was a contemporary of Harrison Hightower III in the S.E.A.) travelled to Anandapur to investigate the stories surrounding the Forbidden Mountain. The outcome of Captain Oceaneer's journey remain unknown.

In 1982, a mountaineering expedition set up a camp on the Forbidden Mountain. The yeti attacked this camp and presumably killed the mountaineers. The campsite was found ruined with a camera which had blurred photographs of the yeti amidst its attack.

Expedition Everest

At some point, a, "Yeti Museum" was established in Serka Zong by conservationist/cryptozoologist Professor Pema Dorje in part of the building previously used by the Royal Anandapur Tea Company. This museum believed that studying and honouring the yeti provided insights in preserving local wildlife and culture. The Yeti Museum proposed multiple theories on the yeti, one of which was that it could be the descendants of late-surviving Gigantopithecus, an extinct species of giant ape which lived in Southeast Asia.

In 2007, two men named Norbu and Bob repurposed the Royal Anandapur Tea Company's abandoned train station and train-tracks for the tourism company, Himalayan Escapes Tours and Expeditions. This company utilized the old tea trains to pass through the Forbidden Mountain and reach Mount Everest. Professor Pema Dorje warned the company and their clients against this due to his conclusions that the yeti was real, which were dismissed by Himalayan Escapes.

In the December of 2007, television presenter found a footprint which he proposed belonged to a yeti, and a cast of said footprint was placed in the yeti museum. This footprint bared no similarities to that of the Yeti of the Forbidden Mountain's and was likely a misidentification or a fake.

The yeti's shadow amongst ripping out train-tracks

Amidst the tours, the yeti began ripping out the railroad tracks around the Forbidden Mountain. At least one tea train of Himalayan Escapes patrons was sent backwards through the mountain due to these tracks and was pursued by the yeti before escaping. By around this point, the The Wilderness Explorers organization active in Anandapur created a, "Yeti Badge" for learning about the local culture regarding the cryptid.

Appearances

Disney California Adventure

Lamplight Lounge

In the Lamplight Lounge, there is a board of Wilderness Explorers badges from Disney's Animal Kingdom. One of the badges is the Yeti Badge, which features artwork of the yeti on it.

Walt Disney World

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Asia

There are multiple references to the Yeti throughout Anandapur. One path has a small shrine made to resemble the silhouette of the Himalayas behind it, with an idol of the yeti within. There are also flyers for the Dancing Yeti Inn.

Expedition Everest

The Yeti is the main-antagonist and central character of this attraction. There are multiple depictions of him throughout the queue, environmental storytelling explaining the yeti's lore, and a wooden cast of his foot acts as the scale for measuring riders. On the ride itself, the yeti appears in the mural of a ruined temple, can be heard roaring before the backwards drop, its shadow is seen ripping out railway tracks, and it is finally encountered lunging at guests before they escape the Forbidden Mountain.

Wilderness Explorers

One of the badges available for players is the, "Yeti Badge" which involves learning about the Yeti's lore and measuring against the yeti's foot cast.

Yak & Yeti Restaurant

This restaurant is partially named for the yeti.

Disney's Blizzard Beach

Cross Country Creek

In the grotto of Cross Country Creek has a cave painting which depicts the Yeti chasing humans away from the Himalayas.

Magic Kingdom

Adventureland

Jungle Cruise

In Alberta Falls' Amazon Rainforest office in the queue, there is a post-card sent to Alberta by Captain Mary Oceaneer. The message sent to Alberta has Captain Oceaneer mention investigating, "(...)strange stories from the Forbidden Mountain near Anandapur", indirectly referencing the Yeti.

Skipper Canteen

In the library of the Skipper Canteen is a book titled, "Everest Expedition: In Search of the Yeti" written by Harrison Hightower III, a villainous character from the Tokyo DisneySea version of Tower of Terror. This reference is an allusion to how Hightower's actor, Joe Rohde, was one of the primary imagineers behind Disney's Animal Kingdom and Expedition Everest.

Shanghai Disneyland

Camp Discovery

A First International News newspaper has a story on the League of Adventurers encountering the yeti, while the league's bulletin board has a photograph of the creature.

Trivia

• Merchandise and other depictions of this yeti in the parks often have white fur, blue skin and red eyes inspired by Harold the Yeti from Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds.
• The yeti's mural in the temple mural is modelled after imagineer Joe Rohde.
• The Dancing Yeti Inn is an allusion to the Disco Yeti nickname.
• The Josh Gates yeti cast in the Yeti museum is a cast of a real-world footprint found in Nepal which he proposed belonged to a real yeti, but which more likely belonged to a bear while morphed by mountain winds.

Gallery