Help Us Bring The Ski Slope Back To Black Rock City!
Donation protected
We’re Crowdfunding An Art Grant To Help Bring The Ski Slope Back To Black Rock City
TL;DR
- We’re incredibly honored (and surprised) to be placed on Esplanade this year.
- After hearing the news last month, we reached out to the Org to ask if we might qualify for an art grant, given the scale and interactivity of the project we bring.
- We were told that camps aren’t eligible for art grants, which is something we technically knew, but felt was worth asking.
- 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).
- We’ve been doing our best to make it happen, but this year, camp dues just won’t cover all of our costs.
- We’re still more than willing to do the heavy lifting, but now we’re turning to our community in hopes that the spirit of communal effort will help carry us through.
️Have we peaked?
We’re BRC Snow Club, the camp that brought the first and only dry ski slope to Burning Man in 2023. That’s right… a real, rideable slope in the middle of the desert, complete with a fully staffed rental shop with skis, snowboards, and even sleds!
Each year, we’ve fundraised, hustled, and hand-built this camp from scratch. In 2023, we made big waves and got a lot of excited attention. We were absolutely floored when nearly half the people who rode the slope the first year brought their own equipment to playa! Then in 2024, we made improvements by adding a removable kicker and teaming up with our sister camp, BRC Ski Resort, who brought the après-ski dance floor vibes and disco gondola last year.
But this year is different.
Our sister camp is sitting this one out, and we’ve been placed front and center on Esplanade. Amazing, yes. But also a massive lift, especially with fewer campers and limited funds coming in.
Why start fundraising so late in the game?
Because we just learned about our placement last month… and because we tend to overcommit and try to do everything ourselves. Sound familiar, other camp leads?
Our hope was to return to Center Camp near a camp bringing sound and a bar, so when we found out we’d been placed on Esplanade, we reached out to Placement immediately to see if we could find out who our neighbors are and whether they would consider us for an art grant since we’re… you know, bringing big art that they specifically requested to be front-and-center on Esplanade. Worth a shot, right?
Unfortunately, the response was what we expected:
“We can’t disclose who your neighbors are.”
And "camps don’t get art grants."
The end.
So here we are...
- Funding our own interactive project with no support from the Org
- Unable to cover expenses with dues because, like many camps this year, recruiting has been a challenge
- Still needing to buy more tickets and vehicle passes just to bring it all to playa
- On our own to figure out sound so we can bring the après vibes
- On Esplanade, where we’ll need to invest in more security measures and face greater risk of damages to our camp and infrastructure
And to make matters worse
The Org posted a (very well-produced) video on their Instagram featuring interactivity at camps, which included footage of our slope. We found out when they tagged us as collaborators. Flattered and impressed by the quality of the video, we accepted.
What we didn’t realize (until the comments rolled in) was that the video was being used as an ADVERTISEMENT to sell tickets (did somebody say decommodification?) using our camp, our project, and our labor for THEIR profit... for an event we have to pay to attend and receive no compensation or support from.
We can’t do this alone
This camp is run by just the two of us: Dylan (aka Major Trouble) and Rachael (aka “the girl who fell” off Naga last year). We have some campers who help out tremendously… but ultimately, the majority of the work, liability, obligations, and all of the financial burden fall on us.
We feel incredibly privileged to have ever been in a position to bring this vision to life, but the truth is we’re in a very different position than we were in 2023, and this past year has been particularly rough (for many reasons we won’t go into). To make matters more challenging, we’re both focused on launching careers (in music and coaching, respectively) while trying to keep the slope alive.
If you’re in the SF Burner community, you’ve likely crossed paths with us and hopefully felt the depth of our love for this community, and this project has been our crazy labor of love, but we simply can’t fund it ourselves anymore. Just storage and transportation expenses alone are over $20,000!
We had hoped camper dues would help cover costs, but the reality is that’s not going to happen this year.
And while we’ve tried to avoid running a fundraiser for financial support (we’re also co-hosting a fundraiser party on August 2nd), here we are humbly reaching out.
IYKYK
Camp leads and veteran Burners probably feel the shift too… and it’s not for the better.
Too many camps are now judged by campers for the amenities they provide for the lowest dues and least amount of required effort. Pay-to-play seems to be the way… and we’re NOT about that.
We’re holding onto the ethos of Burning Man. Outside the Burn, BRC Snow Club exists as a community that unites snow sport-loving Burners both on and off the mountain.
With fewer campers and limited resources, we’re facing a real financial gap just to get our slope to Playa and we could use your help.
It’s humbling to be upside down financially after pouring so much of our time, energy, and personal savings into this project. We wish it didn’t take as much money as it does to gift people such a unique experience and the core memory of skiing in the middle of the desert.
If you can’t donate funds, there are other ways you can help
We know you don’t get what you don’t ask for, so we’re putting it out there in hopes that the playa will provide!
Here’s what we need to help make the slope an epic (pun intended) experience for everyone:
- Lighting to help us make the slope look awesome at night
- More sound equipment (DeMentha is graciously donating some subs and we have a couple tops, but we still need more tops and some amps to complete the speaker setup)
- 1 ticket and 2 vehicle passes to get everything to Playa
- On-playa equipment donations (especially men’s snowboard bindings, snowboards, boots, helmets, and saucer sleds)
- More people who know how to tech skis to volunteer in our “rental shop” so we can keep things running smoothly
- An Experts Only takeover with John Summit on Wednesday for our White Wednesday Powder Party (hey, we've gotta try!)
OUR GOAL: $10K means we can move mountains… literally
We’re raising $10K to help cover our essential costs (transportation, infrastructure, and safety) so we can ensure the slope makes it to playa for summer ski season!
STRETCH GOAL: $15-20K means we can throw proper aprés
Hitting $20K means we can easily add a fully powered sound system and bring the après-ski energy to the slope (something we found absolutely enhances the slope experience).
This stretch goal will go toward:
- Purchasing a generator powerful enough (and fuel) to run our sound
- A full speaker system that can survive the elements (thankfully we’ve already started piecing together some of what we need)
- A DJ booth, lights, and shade for the dance floor
Why donate?
- You want to help keep absurd dreams alive in Black Rock City
- You’re just as confused as we are about why the Org only funds big art outside of camps with no exceptions
- You’ve enjoyed riding the slope, cheered someone on, or watched from afar with a huge grin
- You believe that some of the best Burning Man projects are a little bit of dangerous
- You’ve experienced our on-playa aprés parties and want to give back so you and others can experience it again
- You love the idea of summer skiing in the middle of the desert and know you’d better get used to this dry ski material because climate change is real
Every donation, big or small, helps and your support means the world to us!
Even if you can’t donate, sharing this fundraiser helps more than you know (especially if you share it with John Summit).
See you on the mountain or in the dust… whichever comes first!
Organizer
Dylan Hogan
Organizer
San Francisco, CA