One of the hottest ski slopes in the world. Photo: Black Rock City Snow Club
If you’re planning to attend Burning Man next month you might come across one of the most unique ski slopes in the world. “Might” is an operative word because organizers of the Black Rock City Snow Club, a camp at the annual event that introduced the miniature slope to the desert in 2023, have launched a crowdfunding campaign to ensure they can make the Lake Lahontan Ski Resort a reality at this year’s event.
The miniature slope is a dry ski slope that was introduced just a few years back at the event in Black Rock City, Nevada, fully equipped with a rental shop for skis, snowboards, boots, and sleds, as well as a staff to keep the operation running. At 14-feet tall and 62-feet long, and in the middle of the desert (in August), it’s not exactly a powder hound’s dream destination. But it definitely fits the bill for the kind of things you’re likely to find at the Burn.
According to a GoFundMe campaign coordinated by the BRC Snow Club, the camp needs $5,000 to build the slope again. Communal efforts are the spirit of Burning Man so BRC Snow Club’s leaning on that to execute its plans for 2025’s slope.
After learning their camp would be placed on the Esplanade this year, the main thoroughfare that runs along the inner edge of the city, directly bordering the open playa, the camp was hoping it’d qualify for an artist’s grant based on the interactive use of its structure. The powers that be at Burning Man denied that request, even though as BRC Snow Club points out, they used highlights from the ski resort to promote ticket sales for this year’s event.
“We were told that camps aren’t eligible for art grants, which is something we technically knew, but felt was worth asking,” they wrote. “Especially since our project was featured in a video the Org posted on social media to help advertise and sell tickets (to an event that we, the builders of that art, have to pay to attend).”
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It appears the camp has been fundraising to build its slope the past two years but were hoping that landing a prime location on the playa would earn the grant. The resort was also a collaborative effort between two camps, but they are operating as just one camp this year, adding the need for more resources.
