THE early signs were all there – moths were bigger than usual, kame-mushi (stink bugs) were everywhere. Locals were sure this time everything was pointing towards a big one. After two ‘low’ snowfall seasons, even the laws of probability were leaning in our favour. We got our first snowfall on Mt Yotei in late September, weeks earlier than usual. The first snowfall in the village was also a good two weeks, and several times a solid covering unexpectedly blanketed the village. The storm that came through around November 18 dumped so much snow the resort opened top to bottom as scheduled the 22nd. But despite the consistency of these dumps, in late November and early December a stable winter weather pattern hasn’t set in and the snowfalls have been punctuated with periods of warmer weather and rain.
But local meteorologist Brendon Eishold says the potential is still there for a great season. The guy who, from weeks out, correctly predicted the first snowfall on Yotei this season, says 2004/05 started off exactly the same way, before turning the tap on mid-December and letting it run unchecked until the end of March. “In November 2004 we had 38cm… this year we’ve had 80cm, although the average is about 120cm,” he said. “Then in mid-December (2004) it switched on and we got 336cm that month. In January we got 448cm, February 332 and March 241 – it ended up being a huge season.” Enough said… it looks like it’s going to be huge season!
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