The Snow Leopard

A 1978 narrative nonfiction by the American novelist and naturalist Peter Matthiessen recounting his 1973 trek with biologist George Schaller across the Dolpo region of Nepal in search of the elusive snow leopard and the bharal sheep that are its prey.

Written in the months following the death of Matthiessen's wife Deborah from cancer, the book interweaves zoology, Tibetan Buddhist reflection (Matthiessen was a Zen student), and grief. The journal runs from September to December 1973, structured in four parts that follow the physical arc of the journey from Nepal's lowlands to the Crystal Mountain and back.

Contents

Reception

*The Snow Leopard* won the 1979 National Book Award in the category Contemporary Thought and the 1980 National Book Award for Nonfiction (paperback) — the only title to win the Award twice for the same work in both hardcover and paperback. Robert Macfarlane, Pico Iyer, and Barry Lopez have credited it as a touchstone of Buddhist-inflected American nature writing. Critical reception has focused on Matthiessen's willingness to sit with the failure of the journey's ostensible goal — he never sees the leopard — and to frame absence and not-finding as the spiritual content of the trip. The book has been read alongside Robert Pirsig's *Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance* (1974) as defining a 1970s American genre of contemplatively-framed first-person narrative.

Frequently asked

What is The Snow Leopard about?

It is Peter Matthiessen's account of a 1973 two-month expedition through the Dolpo region of Nepal with wildlife biologist George Schaller. The journey — to study the Himalayan blue sheep and catch a glimpse of the rare snow leopard — doubles as an inward exploration of Zen practice and grief, following the death of Matthiessen's wife Deborah months before departure.

Did Matthiessen actually see the snow leopard?

No. The leopard was never sighted during the trek, and the book frames that absence as the spiritual content of the journey — consistent with Zen teaching on non-attachment and the value of the path itself over any destination or goal.

What awards did The Snow Leopard win?

The Snow Leopard won the 1979 National Book Award in the category of Contemporary Thought and the 1980 National Book Award for Nonfiction (paperback). It is the only title to have won the Award in both its hardcover and paperback editions.