It is impossible to foresee that Bradford's search for the Snowman would terminate in a devastating spectacle. Based on all the sightings and reports Bradford reads about, he hopes to locate a mammal of some kind. From his early student days in anthropology, Bradford theorizes that such a creature could exist in these climatic conditions, even though his colleagues at Harvard scoff at the notion. Only fieldwork, he feels, outside the confines of a university hothouse, could prove his case. He is wrong on all counts.