Come in Echo Base…

“> Well, I finished my circle. I don't pick up any life readings.

<There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser. Sensors are placed. I'm going back.”

quote: The Empire Strikes Back

We went strawberry picking because my lady had invited her friends and brother from Nagano to Gunma to have a jol. When we had degusted on the strawberry goodness we decided that a trip up to the shrine on lake Akagi would be a great plan.

As we ascended the mountain there was more and more snow on the road. while there was a good deal of grit laid down, cars essentially formed trenches with their tires but left humps of snow in-between them. as a result, I could make it to the top with my dry weather summer sports tires… but being a good deal lower than the average commuter, My bumper ended up being a bit of a snowplough.

As we pulled into the shrine the clouds rolled in and a very fine but very cold and hard snow began to fall. Whatever. We made it up so we were going to check it out. As it turns out however, there was nothing to see. White pristine snow piled a good 30/40 cm on a frozen lake against a white sky. It was very white, more than a little eerie.

After some freezing at the shrine, and the call of nature, we decided to head back to greener pastures. As it turns out. there was even more snow on the descending lane than the ascending one…

The bumpers filled up with snow and grit and a bunch of ice got in the wheel arches and engine bay. I had to stop a few times to try and figure out if my bumper had started scraping the ground. At one point, I thought it had come off, but tie straps are amazingly strong things. Good thing I had 2 on each mounting point however because one of each broke. for what it’s worth, my intercooler was pretty damn cold. Sadly, taking the car into boost would have had resulted in disaster.

All in all it was great fun though. Driving on Mt.Akagi ALWAYS is.