Some snow sports enthusiasts believe bigger snowfalls occur in an Olympic year.
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Falls Creek photographer Chris Hocking said it was a superstition spoken about between the alpine resort’s residents.
“We usually get 20 to 30 centimetres more maximum snow depth in an Olympic year,” he said.
Mr Hocking said 2012 “went off the scales”, as did 2004 and 2008.
With the Olympics beginning in Rio de Janeiro this August, many hoped this prophecy would prove true, including snowboarder Jesse Trout.
Mr Trout drove all the way from Adelaide to Falls Creek on Friday with his mates, arriving on Saturday morning in time for Sunday’s official opening of the ski season.
“We didn’t get enough snow for snowboarding,” he said.
“But it’s been surprisingly fun, we’ve found heaps of random little things to do up here which is cool, like making an igloo and snowman.”
But Mr Trout hoped there would be enough snowfall through Sunday night to have a board on Monday before driving back to South Australia.
“We’ll hope we can somehow fluke enough snow overnight, we’ll sneak in a board if all goes well,” he said.
Mr Hocking said some beginner slopes at Falls might open on Monday, weather conditions permitting.
“It’s been pretty encouraging,” he said.
“We’ve had five, up to 10 centimetres in spots, from Saturday’s snowfall.
“They’ve increased the snow depth in the snow making areas with a huge night on Saturday.
“It was the coldest night of the year so far, at minus seven degrees, so the snow-making team absolutely cranked it out.”
Usually the North East’s snow resorts’ busy period begins in earnest when school holidays commence from June 24, remaining packed until the end of season in September.
But until then, sight-seeing tourists and residents have been enjoying the relatively calm early season.
“A lot of the families of ski clubs come up here for working bees and reacquaint themselves with all their friends,” Mr Hocking said.
“What we’ve seen in the past 36 hours is a transformation into a very beautiful winter wonderland around the resort.”
Mount Hotham also didn’t miss out, receiving three centimetres of snow in falls over the weekend.
