Welcome to Lake Lahontan Ski Resort: the portable dry ski slope we built at Burning Man 2023 as a proof-of-concept for something even bigger!
Named after the ancient lakebed upon which it sits, Lake Lahontan Ski Resort is a 14-foot tall, 62-foot-long dry ski slope. Construction consists of a ring lock scaffold superstructure topped with reinforced plywood panels covered in an innovative dry ski material.
How did we do it?
The Anatomy of a Ski Slope
The slope consists of four key segments:
The drop-in platform and upper ramp
The flat middle section with a removable kicker and jib feature
The lower slope
And the flat runout and stopping zone.
In 2022, we took several samples of dry ski mats to Burning Man, left them in the sun and dust, and encouraged visitors to play with them so we could better understand how they would hold up under the harsh conditions of the Playa. After careful inspection of the samples, we decided on this particular surface: a plastic polymer with a typical lifespan of 7 years.
Skiers can achieve about 80% of the speed of real snow while using standard equipment. The mats also produce a sound similar to that of icy snow, giving you auditory feedback to match! Most importantly, these dry ski mats DO NOT REQUIRE LUBRICATION, making them the perfect choice for our hill in the desert!
We built the ski slope with three key goals in mind:
Remove the usual barriers to entry for snow sports (financial, environmental, and so on)
Raise further awareness of the effects of climate change
Further build our community.
Burning Man 2023
Mudpocalypse & Learning Man
In 2023, we brought the slope to the Playa for the first time! It was an amazing experience, but we also saw unprecedented rain and learned a lot about the slope build and operating a camp of that size. In short, it was a learning year.
We brought the entire mountain experience on our own: the slope, rental shop, Powder Bun’s Bar, our DJ booth, and a covered dance floor. It was a massive undertaking, but we pulled it off in style. We were only open during the day as we didn’t have lighting for the slope yet, but hundreds of participants came by to shred our dry ski hill every day!
Burning Man 2024
2024 saw us move from deep in the city to premiere placement in Center Camp Plaza. We were brought in as a featured camp to revitalize the plaza alongside several other amazing camps, and we absolutely LOVED IT!
In partnership with our sister camp, BRC Ski Resort, we brought the city a brand new nighttime Après Ski experience, with amazing DJs, performers, and artists all week long. Special guests RUMPUS and The Sponges threw down bangin’ sets from Frosty’s Cabin, while shredders of all ages ripped down the slope deep into the night!
Burning Man 2025
We’re actively recruiting for new campers to help us bring our amazing gift back to Center Camp Plaza this year! Interested in learning more? Fill out our Camper Interest form!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Outside of Burning Man, we will be taking the slope on tour in Northern California and beyond! We plan to partner with local retailers to collaborate on gear demo days, give lessons, host Rail Jams, and offer folks who might not have the opportunity to get to the snow a chance to try skiing, riding, or sledding right in their home town! We'll also bring it out for organized events like music festivals, street fairs, and other gatherings too!
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Radical Inclusion is a core principle of our community, and as such, we'll have SLEDDING hours where anyone who doesn't ski or board can come and still experience the thrill of hurtling down a "mountain!”
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No way! We are actively seeking donations of used gear and pursuing a used rental fleet from nearby shops. If you know of a shop getting rid of last year's gear, please connect us!
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Nope! It is similar only in that it starts high and ends low. We’re using a completely new snow-sports specific surface, a unique multi-tiered design, and you can actually carve and turn on it.
TL;DR: #notthewedge