All the snow that fell in the past week was the Christmas gift Billy Powers needed to resurrect a wintry wonder that took Anchorage by storm a year ago and became known near and far as Snowzilla.
The snowman towered some 16 feet in Powers' front yard in Airport Heights until the sun shrank it to an icy sliver in the spring. Decorated in homemade duds, with Alaskan Amber beer bottles for eyes, Snowzilla drew droves of picture-snapping admirers at all hours and made international headlines.
Powers promised to build Snowzilla again this year.
But the weather had been working against him. There just wasn't enough snow.
"We were in trouble," Powers said.
That started to change midweek. It snowed a few inches. Then it snowed again. And again.
All told, 2 feet of snow fell on the city in the past seven days.
By Sunday, while others burrowed in for a lazy Christmas Eve, dug out from Saturday's record-for-the-date snowstorm or trolled the stores for last-minute gifts, Powers and two buddies bundled in layers of super-tough outdoor gear and got to work.
Two-tiered scaffolding surrounded Snowzilla's growing bulk. Standing on the top level, next-door neighbor John Woolsey pumped water into a garbage bin of snow and stirred to make the fresh powder more moldable. He applied globs to Snowzilla's globular head and smoothed it into place.
The new Snowzilla has a bigger waistline than last year, and it will be taller, too.
Darrell Estes, who lives across the street, guesses it will stand about 22 feet tall with the top hat on. He helped out last year and didn't think twice about pitching in again.
"I did say, 'Let's go even bigger,' " Estes said.
It's hard to imagine Snowzilla bigger. The icy giant last winter drew crowds once the word got out -- locals as well as out-of-towners who arrived in hotel vans and cabs. TV crews showed up from Japan and Russia. USA Today listed Powers' address.
One night, Powers recalled, there were four limos in front of his house at once, all hauling passengers who wanted a peek.
Inevitably, spring came and Snowzilla went. One day, Powers' young son Hunter brought him a chunk of old ice. It was all that remained of Snowzilla, Powers said.
He assumed Hunter tossed it. Nope. The 8-year-old stuck the ice in a plastic bag and tucked it away in the freezer.
"He didn't want to see it totally go away," Powers said.
So this year, when the snow came at last, and it was time to get serious about reincarnating the much-adored character, the gang ceremoniously used that lump of ice to start. It was, Powers said, "the size of a popsicle."
A neighbor with a snowplow on his truck pushed drifts up to Powers' house for easy access and less hauling. While last year found neighborhood children lugging sleds loaded with snow, this year it's mostly Estes, Woolsey and Powers doing the heavy lifting.
All three men have craftsman backgrounds and know how to use tools: Estes does custom upholstery, Woolsey is in construction and Powers is a welder. They get a kick out of building the king of snowmen and are proud of their efforts.
They stood back from their in-progress Snowzilla on Sunday afternoon, sipping sodas while a couple of Powers' children lounged in the snowbanks, munching Doritos.
The plan: Get Snowzilla's face on by night's end and hopefully top it off with the black hat today.
"It's always a work in progress," Powers said.
A passing neighbor smiled and said, "You guys got enough snow now?"
"It came just in time," Powers replied, grinning.
It's too soon to say whether this Snowzilla will ignite the frenzy of its former self. But Powers suspects the wintertime icon has staying power. It made people happy -- and its a universal symbol of the season, something everyone can relate to.
"A snowman's good for everybody," Powers said.
Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.
After a pathetic November, snow lovers can rejoice at 2 feet
Mother Nature played catch-up the past week, dumping more than 2 feet of snow on Anchorage.
Saturday's snowstorm even broke a record for the date, with 10 inches falling at the National Weather Service office near the international airport. The previous record for Dec. 23 was 8.3 inches in 1959, the Weather Service reported.
The Anchorage snow paled compared with areas to the south. In Girdwood, 40 inches fell near the base of Alyeska Resort on Saturday storm and Whittier saw 25 inches of fresh snow.
Jim Nelson, a meteorologist at the Anchorage office of the National Weather Service, said Anchorage had received an accumulation of 24.7 inches of snow since the storms started a week ago.
Anchorage's snow season started out normally enough, with snow on the ground by Halloween and 8.7 inches recorded in October -- slightly more than that month's average accumulation of 6.9 inches.
But November was the pits for skiers, sledders and other snow lovers: The Anchorage weather office recorded just 1 inch of snow, far below the November average of 10.3 inches.
Avalanche danger remains high in the backcountry across Southcentral.
-- Anchorage Daily News
Meet Snowzilla
• DIRECTIONS: turn south on Columbine Street off DeBarr Road and drive 11/2 blocks to 1556 Columbine St.
