The Week of the 24th Annual Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War

January 6th through 12th, 2015

Lake Lucerne
The lake enjoyed sub-zero cold and a blue sky early in the week. That would, and would not, last.
Lake Lucerne
Fort building started on Thursday. We lost the blue of the sky earlier in the week and it somehow got colder. The strong wind did not help.
Lake Lucerne
On Friday, there was still wind, but the clouds were thinning and the Southern fort's walls were almost done with fewer casualties than forecast.
Lake Lucerne
On Saturday, temperatures rose to the balmy single digits. Starting and finishing touches were added to the Northern fort.
Lake Lucerne
Clouds rolled in before the sun set on the finished forts. The Northern rampart's "U" shape had 6 krispa class launchers , sloped snow armor, and a plexiglass view port.
Lake Lucerne
The Southern citadel had 3 krispa class launchers, 1 K2 class launcher, 360 degree wind/rocket protection, and a polycarbonate window.
Lake Lucerne
At about 6:15 CST, the first ranging shots were fired.
Lake Lucerne
Minutes later, the air was filled with jet propelled sticks. With report!
Lake Lucerne
Trajectories were lowered. The long flowing arcs that streamed harmlessly over combatants and snow walls began coming in flat and fast. The shots pounded walls and, in one case, a head.
Lake Lucerne
The almost 5,000 rockets (exactly 4,446) were exhausted in just over an hour. A new record. After the last shot, surviving fighters and a few civilians retired to the bar to recount stories of honor, bravery, and general glory.
Lake Lucerne
Sunday morning's light confirmed the ferocity of fire the previous night.
Lake Lucerne
The walls of the Northern fort were pocked and stickelated.
Lake Lucerne
Even the plexiglass portal was damaged after it suffered a direct hit.
Lake Lucerne
The Southern stronghold also bore scars from Saturday's event.
Lake Lucerne
It was hard to find a square foot of unscratched snow armor.
Lake Lucerne
One shot even came through a firing port and damaged a rocket cannon. The crew of battery Alpha 3 managed to work past the damage and remained effective for the duration.
Lake Lucerne
We'd like to thank everyone for both their direct and indirect contributions that made the 24th Annual Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War the best ever. The Bottle Rocket War marks the start of twilight for Deep Winter. Sure, there might be some unspeakably cold days ahead, but the days are getting longer and the third part of Winter, Thaw, is almost upon us. Yay. The ice under those forts is over a foot thick as is the snow on top of that ice. There wasn't enough time to gather exact snow and ice levels. We'll be sure to get those measurements for next week's update.


-Nemo, proud member of battery Alpha 3.