Playa Conditions 2014

[Train Wreck]

Would anybody who went on that camping trip over the recent holiday weekend like to chime in on how the playa looked? Is it the fucked over mess people have been forecasting?

[Ano]

Massively soft in some spots, and it was a bit wet once you got under the surface. It looks hard, but underneath that, there's some serious talcum powder.

So far, it's looking to be an interesting year for playa conditions.

[lucky420]

Dry ass winter+ no substantial spring/summer rains=do the math.

or maths...

[Jovankat]

Would a good down pour in the next few weeks make a significant difference or is it just too late now?

[Sham]

What really needed to happen was a very snowy and wet winter--with standing water on the entire playa. Then when spring hits and it all dries nice and even and solid, then turns to that great crackle finish. If it rained now, it will only be a muddy, rutty mess.

[Jovankat]

Ah ok, I think I understand, it would have like baked in (except cold not hot) whereas getting wet now and then drying would be like a crumbly half baked cake?

[lucky420]

Yes and a good slow wet winter is going to allow that water to sink into the playa over winter/spring. The playa is basically clay. Notice how lovely it clumps up and sticks to everything when wet.

[golgotha-a-go-go]

Went out to 4th of Juplaya last week. Camped about two miles north-east of BM site. Drove to approximate BM location. Report: big, loose cracks that crumble fairly easily. Ground was a bit moist about 6 or so inches down. Ground was difficult to cycle on. Were we camped, rebar popped out relatively easily due to moisture somewhat near surface. Unless it rains more and then bakes long, it might be a challenging surface, but, regardless, let's not jump to doom and gloom scenarios. Things can change in 40 days.

[remi]

Great.. the shittier the better! I was planning on doing much more walking this year anyways.

[Simon of the Playa]

....Oh Its Going to Suck Alright.....its going to suck HARD....

[golgotha-a-go-go]

For those meteorology nuts like me who want to track the weather out there, Weather Underground now has a monitoring station at Trego which is couple of miles south of the BM site. This should be the closest station to the action. Shows projected rain too.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... &sp=MUP974

[tatonka]

I was at a great gathering of tribes once and the weather guys predicted rain . Everyone could see the black mass of clouds headed our way . A medicene man
came out and chanted a bit and the black mass split in 2 and went around the camp on both sides. We were dry the whole weekend.

[Fidget]

Does that medicine man have a ticket for this year?

[tatonka]

Does that medicine man have a ticket for this year?

I dont think so , but I will see him at the Grande Round Powwow on the 18th of Aug and ask him what he thinks

[Mojori]

As perverse as it may sound, I really do hope we have a massive dust storm this year. I freakin' LOVE the sound, ambiance, natural drama and mystery of a major white out. Also, they're very socially leveling: nothing puts different types/ranks/categories of people all on the same level as a powerful act of nature.

And, perhaps more importantly, I think one might really reduce the excessively large population that now crams into BRC each year. At least certain aspects of that population. Some people are impervious to social leveling.

Sparkle ponies, plug-and-play camp snobs, disgustingly rich techie libertarians, prefabbed outfit-wearing snotty girls and weekend alcoholic revelers BEGONE!!!!

LOL.

[Coastburner]

The reality is, weather happens. The funny thing is the last three years, the weather has been pretty damn good. You tie that into some utube videos and everyone thinks it's a giant party. Is it? Yes, if you want it to be. Quiet and calm? Yes, if you want it to be. Weird, strange, wild and fun? Yes, if you want it to be. Burning man is whatever you want. After 11 years, I can say that you never know what to expect from a weather standpoint. The initial stories are loose playa, wet underneath and eventually, very dusty. The fact is, that may be right. It may rain, it might be dusty, it might be hot, it might be cold. It may be all of those things. The bottom line is it's really survival in the desert. It can be frickin cold at night, wicked hot during the day, dusty, windy and just overall crazy. Be prepared, don't freak out, enjoy the experience and of course, make sure you and anyone around you is safe. Yes, it's a self survival message but a true burner knows, help your fellow burner when you can.

I can't wait - as always!

Coastburner

[Fan C]

As perverse as it may sound, I really do hope we have a massive dust storm this year. I freakin' LOVE the sound, ambiance, natural drama and mystery of a major white out. Also, they're very socially leveling: nothing puts different types/ranks/categories of people all on the same level as a powerful act of nature.

And, perhaps more importantly, I think one might really reduce the excessively large population that now crams into BRC each year. At least certain aspects of that population. Some people are impervious to social leveling.

Sparkle ponies, plug-and-play camp snobs, disgustingly rich techie libertarians, prefabbed outfit-wearing snotty girls and weekend alcoholic revelers BEGONE!!!!

LOL.

Yeah the last near decade has been pretty nice weatherwise, combined with pics of said beautiful weather on the (at that time new) social media, I believe those go hand in hand with population doubling in that time.

It would interesting to see the effect of a good suck fest or two.

[lucky420]

weather service is calling for flash floods in Northwest Nevada/eastern sierras today. Map shows area just outside the playa...

of course this is Nevada so just wait a hot minute and the weather will change

[Jackass]

A good few days of dirt blowing and I'd bet that you'll see the population thin out a bit. The continuous dirt in the air will force the "tourists" to hunker down and send sparkle ponies stampeding back to Reno in a mad rush to get to a shower. In 09 a few of my campmates sparkle ponies couldn't take the dirt storms, after day two they said their goodbyes and made a B line for Reno. The city as a whole thinned out a little. Being on the outer road, I got to see the tide of vehicles shift from inbound to I'm outta here. A lot of people leaving on Friday before any of the big burns.

The shower and buffet had beckoned...

[Madgirl]

Ha, '09 was my first year and I didn't even think it was that bad. I was definitely prepared for worse, anyway.

[Jackass]

Ha, '09 was my first year and I didn't even think it was that bad. I was definitely prepared for worse, anyway.

It really wasn't that bad, the ponies couldn't hang though.

[VultureChow]

Last year was super nice, but my recollection of 2012 was that the nights were damn cold.

And I thought we had one really nice dustup on either Thursday or Friday afternoon. Whatever night Wall Street was originally scheduled to burn.

But that's as far back as my knowledge goes. I really liked that dust storm.

[zorro sings]

I really do hope we have a massive dust storm this year.

You are joking,right?There are NO good reasons for wanting a"massive dust storm".Probably 70% of the crowd and 50% of the camps this year have never experienced one.The damage would be great.I think our luck could change this year but may the weather of the last three years continue forever.

[Jackass]

Last year was super nice, but my recollection of 2012 was that the nights were damn cold.

And I thought we had one really nice dustup on either Thursday or Friday afternoon. Whatever night Wall Street was originally scheduled to burn.

Pink Mammoth (rare) night party, epic time, good music, couldn't see shit!...vivid just like it was yesterday.

[Train Wreck]

I want a multi-day apocalyptic level whiteout as we haven't had one of those for a while. As people have already mentioned, it'll probably thin out the population, not to mention give perspective about how little control you really have in the desert.

[Fan C]

Probably 70% of the crowd and 50% of the camps this year have never experienced one.

That is exatcly the reason it would great. Of that 70% how many are just here for "EDC on steroid".

In the age of Facebook there has been virtually no real hardship on the playa.

(why does ePlaya not have the word "playa" in it spell-check dictionary?)

[zorro sings]

Probably 70% of the crowd and 50% of the camps this year have never experienced one.

That is exatcly the reason it would great. )

So,in other words,you are happy to see danger and harm come to the city in order to thin things out a bit?

[Fan C]

Probably 70% of the crowd and 50% of the camps this year have never experienced one.

That is exatcly the reason it would great. )

So,in other words,you are happy to see danger and harm come to the city in order to thin things out a bit?

Safety THIRD!!! It's burning man.

[Token]

Sheesh ZS, that is how it all started. A Zone Trip back in the 80's.

Not all fans of cacophony have fled before the onslaught of stinky hippies and PLUR hippies.

Some linger and a 3-day whiteout like the good ol' days is a perfect culture jam by mother nature.

11th Principle: Depussyfication - Keeping Burning Man potentially lethal.

[zorro sings]

[quote
Safety THIRD!!! It's burning man.[/quote]


Anyone who believes this is true has a Playa nightmare in their future