Never-before-seen Yetis roared into the O’Shaughnessy Center during Coronation Jan. 17.  

The Yetis are one and the same since the dawn of Big Mountain – big like the mountain, ferocious and willing to defend their snowy territory from Ullr and his settlers at all costs.  

But the 2026 Yetis have had a refresh, boasting fresh leatherwork atop their abominable snowman-esque bodies.  

Free from the stenches of decades of Yetis past, this year’s Yetis can now see and breathe clearly – a luxurious boost for recruiting younger Yetis for the year-round position, which is important for the Yetis, who have dwindled in years past. 

The upgrades came from Whitefish’s own Mad Leather Custom, co-owned by Milen Krastev, a tailor, and Jenny Krasteva, a designer.  

A Whitefish Winter Carnival board member who keeps tabs on Carnival characters, known in the realm as Firestarter, initiated the wardrobe upgrade.  

“It needed to happen,” he said. “If you put the old one on, you’d probably puke.” 

In 1962, the Yetis pulled one of their most legendary stunts, brashing a wooden box that was thought to have held the Queen. But then, the Queen of Snows Susan Abell emerged unharmed from the inside of a nearby massive snowman  instead. 

These days, it's a bit tamer. The Yetis tend to kidnap the Queen and whisk her off to the bars, rather than unfamiliar territory. Liability is a challenge, ever since the Yetis officially joined the Carnival a few decades ago.

“Yea, you hear stories of Yetis snatching up kids on four-wheelers back in the day,” Firestarter said. “Now it’s all about being able to step over the line then getting your a** right back over it.” 

Messing with the kids and being a prankster is the highlight of a Yeti's life, Firestarter said. Giving a high five, handing out candy only to steal it back, is all fun for Yetis. 

But the best of all is “striking fear."

“That shocked, screaming, crying face, when they’re gonna have nightmares. That feels good for Yetis," Firestarter said. 

Firestarter said he remembers one time, a Yeti stuck a traffic cone on a kid's head during an event in Eureka.

“Couldn’t get it off his head. He just wobbled all around.”  

Firestarter said a band of Yetis were crossing a sidewalk a couple years ago in Whitefish when a woman stopped her car right there. The Yetis turned to the car and started climbing on it. The woman called the cops.  

Unfortunately, people calling the cops on Yetis isn’t a rare occurrence. But instances like these help remind people of times past. 

“I mean, there’s so many new people,” Firestarter said. “It’s tough to explain something that’s been around since the 1960s.” 

But for many, there’s no explaining needed, because as sure as the sun, when the Carnival characters rise, now so too does the Yeti. 

And they bring their own explanation: “Grrr!”