Seventy-two years ago today, on December 31, 1953 (November 26, 1953), the search for the "snowman" began. December 31, 1953. A British-led expedition to find the enigmatic "snowman" has arrived in India, ready to go to Nepal. Edmund Hillary, who conquered the Himalayas six months ago, said he had seen strange, long-haired animal tracks during his early expeditions to the Himalayas.