How to Go to Burning Man in an Extreme Climate and Feel Good About It

“Stay distant from camps that are providing ‘services’ similar stylists, hairsbreadth and makeup, staff, oregon anyone bundling lodging and tickets,” Feldman says. “These are reddish flags. The radical who volition beryllium camping determination astir apt won’t beryllium arsenic overmuch fun, and the full campy could get unopen down mid-burn and you’ll beryllium stuck without shelter, food, water, etc.”

If you privation a much sustainable camp, look for 1 that brings their nutrient scraps to a composting camp, collects cans to bring to Recycle Camp, and has immoderate benignant of star array.

One instrumentality to find however bully a campy is, is to cheque however the campy did successful presumption of Leaving No Trace past year. When the Burning Man unit does a expanse of the playa aft it’s each over, they enactment down however overmuch MOOP (matter retired of place, oregon litter) is near connected each camp’s site. If the campy is successful the red, that’s a atrocious sign.

Determine Your Shelter

Your options for structure see a tent, an RV oregon a trailer. You could besides effort a Shiftpod, a reflective structure designed by burners for godforsaken camping.

Hardcore burners volition curse up and down that you don’t request air-conditioning to bask your burn—just a battery-powered instrumentality for your tent—but that mightiness not beryllium existent for overmuch longer. Nearby Reno, Nevada, is heating up faster than immoderate different city owed to clime change.

“As overmuch arsenic I hatred AC units due to the fact that they're atrocious for the environment, they tin beryllium earnestly life-saving depending connected the heat,” says Collins. She says you tin find a utilized AC portion for betwixt $200 and $500. If your campy doesn’t supply power, you’ll request to bring a tiny generator—solar panels can’t grip an AC unit.

If you bash structure camp, marque definite your campy has a quiet, good shaded, oregon adjacent air-conditioned shared lounge country wherever you tin nap during the day. Or cognize wherever your friends with air-conditioning are staying, successful lawsuit of emergencies.

The hexayurt built from taped insulation panels utilized to beryllium much popular, but it’s annoying to physique and transport, truthful the Shiftpod, an insulated dome that sleeps 2 comfortably, has mostly taken its place. In fact, some Collins and Rueben Pacheco, who attended his archetypal pain successful 2009 and brings a gnome-themed creation car to the playa, ain a Shiftpod. Feldman bought a trailer galore years agone but mightiness get a Shiftpod successful the future.

The Shiftpod sells for $1,600, comes successful a ample duffel, and tin beryllium acceptable up successful 20 minutes. It keeps particulate retired beauteous well, and folks who stayed successful them during last year’s deluge reported that their floors stayed dry. “Seriously, a large investment,” Collins says.

Many burners who alert into a adjacent metropolis opt to prime up an RV to implicit the journey. With its built-in AC, beds, kitchen, and fridge, it makes for much comfortableness and lighter packing. It’s besides mode much comfy than a car successful a 12-hour-long exodus line. The downside is the disbursal (budget astatine slightest $2,000 per idiosyncratic for rental, fees, and gas), and the accent of piloting that lumbering monster astir Reno and into and retired of Black Rock City, particularly since Burning Man’s governing body, the Org, banned RV transportation starting past year. Oh, and RVs are hands-down the astir polluting structure astatine Burning Man, with a ample c footprint and a ample generator draw, which means much sound and particulate contamination connected the playa.

Decide How You’ll Get There

You tin get to the pain (in bid of cost) by taking the Burner Bus, driving your ain car in, driving an RV in, oregon flying in.