[Feb. 2, 2017 - Olympic Valley, CA.]  

Story by Eric T. Brandt

Lake Tahoe's own rodent weather prognosticator, Punxatahoe Pete, this morning contradicted the widely-followed call of celebrity groundhog Punxutawny Phil, who is reported to have seen his shadow this morning on Gobbler's Knob in Punxutawny, Pa., indicating another six weeks of winter.

Punxatahoe Pete, on the other hand, who usually focuses only on fall predictions for the winter to come, did make a rare Groundhog Day appearance. According to eyewitnesses who asked to remain anonymous, Pete was not able to see his shadow, having stepped out into a snowstorm high atop the Sierra Crest Thursday morning. This would, in popular Groundhog Day mythology, indicate the coming of an early spring - at least here in Tahoe.

Pete, who is actually a marmot, a cousin of the groundhog, is actually in sync with the predications of other, highly-respected and successful groundhogs, including Staten Island Chuck, known for having the highest accuracy rating (80%), and Shubenacadie Sam, of Nova Scotia. Both, according to NPR's report this morning, did not see their shadows, concurring with Pete.   

Each year, in early February, the entire world turns to "the prognosticator of all prognosticators", Punxatawny Phil, of Gobbler's Knob in Punxatawny, Pennsylvania, for a prediction of when winter will end.

About Punxatahoe Pete (As told by this story's author)
Punxatahoe Pete's existence was confirmed by myself and Tahoetopia staff in late 2007 while researching a story about sources for winter predictions. The story was based on the idea that If there's a groundhog that gets all that attention for a spring prediction, then there must be some animal that talks about the coming winter. A click over to Wikipedia under a search for 'Groundhog Day', revealed that there are, in fact, more than just one groundhog. Phil is not the only one! In fact, there are a total of 17 listed on Wikipedia alone. However, none of them hail from anywhere west of the Mississippi. Strange. A little more reading revealed what we had missed... Groundhogs are also known as Marmots!

Back in the early 1990's, when I ran Bungee Palisades Tahoe, the bungee jumping tower at Palisades Tahoe's High Camp, and made the Cable Car (Now, again called the "Tram") trip to High Camp on a daily basis, I heard the legend of Punxatahoe Pete, a reclusive Marmot that lives atop Palisades Tahoe, near High Camp, in a large community of Alpine Marmots. These Marmots, which can be seen on an early summer morning Cable Car ride to High Camp, are actually descendants of the "Marmota marmota", from the Swiss and Austrian Alps, that came to Palisades Tahoe, along with many human European ski instructors and ski lift builders during the 1940's and 50's. Today, as always, Punxatahoe Pete and his community lay low and stay out of sight, and just like most of their kind, live in burrows and hibernate throughout the winter. Truthfully, back then, I paid no mind to the legend. But in 2007, while looking into the story, it all came together! Of course, Pete makes the same sort of prognostication as all the other groundhogs, but given his alpine genealogy, he looks ahead for winter!

Eager to wrap this all up, I quickly made a call to an old friend (who wished to remain anonymous) who had spent many days and nights atop Palisades Tahoe over the last 25 years. He was excited to hear of my reborn interest in Pete, and told me that yes, Pete was still alive and living large at High Camp. And yes, every fall, on, or about October 15th, Pete was known to come out of his burrow and take a look around to determine what's ahead for the winter here in Tahoe. The reason we never pay any attention or hear about it is simply because the Cable Car/Tram is usually closed on October 15th and almost nobody is there to see what Pete sees!

However, in 2007, as with nearly every year prior and until his recent passing, my old friend was there, and he did, in fact, see what happened. Strangely enough, as my friend reported on many occasions, Punxatahoe Pete often poked his head out, looked around, shrugged his shoulders, and then gave a long sigh, turned and went back inside.

It would seem he just doesn't know. And, as many a Tahoe area local will tell you, It's quite possibly a 50/50 chance no matter how you look at it. Unless, of course, Pete's just decided to avoid the attention and continue to keep it a secret.

Author's Note: Punxatahoe Pete will continue to remain anonymous, as will my old friend, through the winter. Perhaps this fall we can all take a hike and see what Pete sees - shadow, or not?