Make Us Jealous

[1durphul]

So, how was it? What was your favorite art? Experience? Anything. Make those of us who couldn't go feel like we're there.

[pink]

It was hot as hell during the day. Like, can't move from your chair, risk heat exhaustion/stroke by moving about hot. Most of our camp sat in the shade with misting bottles waiting for the sun to go down all day. Don't ever remember a burn so hot and this was my 12th. First time I ever left early too.

Just read a guy jumped into the fire at the man burn. If you had to miss a burn, this was the one to miss. Really.

[1durphul]

It was hot as hell during the day. Like, can't move from your chair, risk heat exhaustion/stroke by moving about hot. Most of our camp sat in the shade with misting bottles waiting for the sun to go down all day. Don't ever remember a burn so hot and this was my 12th. First time I ever left early too.

Just read a guy jumped into the fire at the man burn. If you had to miss a burn, this was the one to miss. Really.

Is this a humble brag? It's not making me jealous...

[BBadger]

Was probably the nicest playa to ride on since 2010, and maybe even better than that. It was effortless to pedal virtually anywhere and I didn't encounter a single dune.

That is, unless you rode around on the 9:00 side, which had foot-deep blast craters in the roads that ruined many a bifkin.

It was very hot during the day, and I lament that I was too hot most of the time to venture out during the day. Still, there were some great nights where you could be shirtless nearly the entire night.

[1durphul]

Was probably the nicest playa to ride on since 2010, and maybe even better than that. It was effortless to pedal virtually anywhere and I didn't encounter a single dune.

That is, unless you rode around on the 9:00 side, which had foot-deep blast craters in the roads that ruined many a bifkin.

It was very hot during the day, and I lament that I was too hot most of the time to venture out during the day. Still, there were some great nights where you could be shirtless nearly the entire night.

I love those warm nights!

[ACfromSAC]

Word for word quote of everything Pink and BBadger said. Spot on.... even down to this being the first burn I left early (left at 8PM Saturday). I was a little bummed to miss the man burn until I heard about the guy jumping into the fire. Everything was kept positive. Art was beautiful this year. Tree of Tenere exceeded my vision of what I thought it would be after seeing the crowdfunding video. Really beautiful. Watched an amazing electrical storm over the city on Tuesday. Nights were gorgeous & very comfortable (thanks to the scorching hot days). Least dusty burn I've ever experienced (see BBadger's comment about playa surface conditions), shortest average lines I've ever experienced at Arctica and for coffee at center camp. Had a great chat with an upper 60's couple from New Zealand who were experiencing their first burn and absolutely loving it. Made friends with a great couple from Montana who camped next to us. Lots of snow cones, lots of dancing, all the usual things that keep me coming back year after year.

[Leap]

We renewed our vows (15 years) under the Tree of Ténéré to cap off my wife's 1 year breast cancer diagnose/treatment/recovery. It was more special, in many ways, than our wedding day.

[Traveller in Time]

• -- The amount of energy consumed/ CO₂ compares to any holiday

• -- It is not a hippy festival

• -- Most of the batteries will get properly recycled/ recharged

• -- There are more appropriate conversations for the issues you brought up

It is a miracle most of the materials used are reused if not for something else then next year.

[spacetime]

Indeed, the open playa was unbelievably solid and excellent to ride on. The best I've encountered.

It was, at times, desperately hot during the day. I'm glad to read other people struggled with it, because I know we did too.

However, this led to some very, very nice nights. Where you could be out in shorts and a t-shirt until sunrise. On burn night, I felt like it was at least 80 degrees at midnight. After the past two years we brought a lot of cold weather gear including our burn-night fur coats and almost all that gear went completely unused.

There were scant few dust storms / white outs. Which was great, and only a sprinkling of rain.

The entire burn seemed less activated than past years, perhaps because of the heat of the day. This was the first time in my 4 years now where the burn weekend seemed very slow compared to the week. I'd say the event peaked on Thursday as far as activity goes.

The man burn was the most amazing one I've seen, even though my first one, the giant mega man, was of course very good too. (despite it taking forever) We were just off 6 and did not hear of any concerns until coming back for ashes later. The man burn, i need to emphasize was spectacular. I did not get the hut until he burned.

There are still great people going to Burning Man, including our camp mates Ratty and Abba. My partner and I had a lot of very good encounters with people particularly on our somewhat bike problem enforced on-foot adventure night.

There was some terrific art, particularly the Charon hades skeleton boat one. I think that was the most amazing thing I've seen out there.

I actually think this was an excellent year to go. It was my favorite, demoting my first year to number 2.

[Dr. Pyro]

Hello. I'm curious if you are all aware that your little festival releases 49,000 tons of greenhouse gases permanently into our environment every year? Also are you aware that the TONS of batteries brought out to your festival end up in a land fill for hundreds of years until they break down and leak poison into the soil? Does the amount of fule burned and ludicrous amount of carbon released getting to your festival bother you? The earth crys as you dance in the desert.

Calling Doctor Buzzkill, Doctor Buzzkill emergency line 1 stat.

[BBadger]

Least dusty burn I've ever experienced (see BBadger's comment about playa surface conditions), shortest average lines I've ever experienced at Arctica and for coffee at center camp.

Yes! Holy shit those lines were short! Only in the earliest part of the week, when Center Camp was the only ice source in town, did the lines ever extend outside the shaded concourses whenever I visited. If I wasn't marching straight into the sale area, there were maybe 5-7 people in front of me. This was at all hours too. Maybe it was the heat? Whatever it was, it was super easy every time!

Indeed, the open playa was unbelievably solid and excellent to ride on. The best I've encountered.

It was, at times, desperately hot during the day. I'm glad to read other people struggled with it, because I know we did too.

I was bummed that I wasn't willing to go out in the daylight to see stuff, but I'm also relieved to read that it wasn't so much a matter of will than the conditions.

There were scant few dust storms / white outs. Which was great, and only a sprinkling of rain.

Yeah, not much wind! The playa seemed to have a thin layer of dust because there was so little wind to blow it away. It was like 2011's hard-pack but with an inch of light powder everywhere. Wonderful stuff to bike on.

The entire burn seemed less activated than past years, perhaps because of the heat of the day. This was the first time in my 4 years now where the burn weekend seemed very slow compared to the week. I'd say the event peaked on Thursday as far as activity goes.

I noticed that too. People were just exhausted, and many people in my camp decided to just watch the burn from camp, and have a day of rest on burn night, rather than go balls to the walls. Friday was also a rest day and night too. It's like the whole schedule shifted back multiple days.

There was some terrific art, particularly the Charon hades skeleton boat one. I think that was the most amazing thing I've seen out there.

When I visited there, there was one guy who was person who was a supreme motivator and got lots of people on board, including my tired self, to help pull the ropes. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed it.

Blah blah blah. Are you aware of pollution?

Let's see, 49,000 tons is about 0.6 tons per person for attending during the festival. The average American produces about 20 tons per year. Divide that by 52 weeks and that's about 0.38 tons/week.

So burners, who predominantly come from the US, are producing about 60% more pollution for about one week in a year.

Not really a big deal.

If you really want to save the planet, rather than getting your jollies acting sanctimonious on a forum, you could redirect your efforts towards trying to make your cities less polluting. Many produce more pollution per day in an hour of rush hour than this event produces in a week. You might then actually be useful.

[1durphul]

Hello. ...The earth crys as you dance in the desert.

Oh thank god, my gas powered margarita maker was law on salt to rim the glasses with.

[Chairman Meow]

It was hot as hell during the day. Like, can't move from your chair, risk heat exhaustion/stroke by moving about hot. Most of our camp sat in the shade with misting bottles waiting for the sun to go down all day. Don't ever remember a burn so hot and this was my 12th. First time I ever left early too.

Just read a guy jumped into the fire at the man burn. If you had to miss a burn, this was the one to miss. Really.

That was horrible. We had carted in a whole cocktail bar, went out early and got a great spot at the front. It was a unique burn... no one was screaming and shouting, it felt almost like the Temple Burn. The heat was really intense, but a great burn. And then... that. We thought the rangers had him, and then he made a beeline for the fire. I wish we could un-see that. Wish it didn't happen.

And of course now the PTB will make Burning Man suckier as a result. Which is too bad. People die hiking too. They fall off cliffs (sometimes even jump on purpose), get eaten by bears, die of dehydration after they get lost... do we fence off every trail and require 24/7 security in national parks? It was horrible to see, but people always find creative ways to die, and you're never going to prevent every instance without killing what it is that makes the experience amazing for everyone.

[YourselfBonus]

It was hot as hell during the day. Like, can't move from your chair, risk heat exhaustion/stroke by moving about hot. Most of our camp sat in the shade with misting bottles waiting for the sun to go down all day. Don't ever remember a burn so hot and this was my 12th. First time I ever left early too.

Just read a guy jumped into the fire at the man burn. If you had to miss a burn, this was the one to miss. Really.

Is this a humble brag? It's not making me jealous...

Oooopsss

[Ugly Dougly]

So, how was it? What was your favorite art? Experience? Anything. Make those of us who couldn't go feel like we're there.

Chiang Mai was great, thanks for asking.