Forecast was clear that Tahoe was going to be blasted and the roads were going to be shut down for a while. I missed the last that happened but was able to go this time, so I hurried to get to Kirkwood before weather got too bad. That storm was unusual as I drove almost all the way with not even any rain and it's only in the last 30mn that I got some rain and then snow. I didn't complain and was happy to get over before it got bad:
Drive across the spur, was interesting:
Days 1-2: Shut down
The next 2 days were shut down, wind was so high (100 to 200mph, snow falling completely sideways) that kirkwood was not able to run any lifts and do any snow safety. This was kind of expected. During that time, the road in both directions was also closed, which was also expected. I went out on day 2 to get some pictures when there was a small chance things could open, but did not as the wind did not die down:
The kids tried to dig out the front door:
day2
they failed, this is what it looked on day 3 :)
The snow was relentless, it never stopped:
KW tried, but didn't succeed in opening anything on day2
I parked my car in underground parking so it wouldn't get snowed in :)
parking your car outside didn't seem like a great idea :)
this was the parking lot I got in, you could barely walk out without hitting your head
Day 3: Cartmanland Fluffy 4H Pow Day
Day 3, finally chair 6 opened at 11:00, the roads were closed so no one could get in, the snow was absolutely fantastic even if weather was super cold and miserable:
weather was blizzardly
nice board :)
I was able to snowboard all the way from the lift to across the street and inside the parking lot ;)
I also noticed that it was cold enough my car lost 8% charge
Despite the bad weather, these were some of the best runs I've ever had at kirkwood, especially as no one was able to drive in since the roads were closed:
Chamoix was trivial to get down, so much snow:
Day 4: Finally better weather, Wall opened
Day 4, finally the weather got better and it was possible to open more terrain. Sadly by then the wind had packed all that fantastic snow that was flying in my face the previous day. It's not like it sucked, but the epic powder day was already over:
the wall finally opened!
everyone flocked there :)
the path down from the top was all gone and burried
chair 2 needed a bit of TLC :)
I started the day with a fast run down 6, snow was firm powder but still smooth:
A different, down angle run:
The wall, eagle bowl to chair 1:
Day 5: Late bluebird, Backside finally opened
Day 5 finally had nicer weather, and the back side opened:
the wall seldom looks like this :)
people camped at chair2 2H early to get to the backside :)
I used the time to hike to Glove Rock mostly for fun, the snow was not that great anymore by then:
nice views though
riding the ridge was super windy, I then rode part of palisades
snow was pretty packed by then though
The ride was pretty rough, I got blown off the icy ridge a few times:
Then went back to the Wall and eagle bowl to get to chair2
rode down this, pretty rough on my butt :)
chair2 line had gotten a bit longer :)
it looked pretty, but backside snow is usually pretty packed
haha, good one :)
I went to find better snow
the cornice off the wave had been blown off by the wind, it was now a gentle slope. Had never seen that.
Fawn ridge was beautiful, as always
The first run was pretty firm:
This was my last, and best fawn ridge run, snow was much better there as usual. Good thing I had poles to get out of it, especially with the snowboarders that were blocking the path out:
After multiple fawn ridge runs, it was time to drive back, just as Carson Spur had finally re-opened:
Chapultepec Castle is an interesting historical castle built in Mexico City, originally by the Spanish, and then it was taken by the French which brought a lot of cool things to it, including even some exquisite stained glass made in Paris.
It's pretty far out of the way, a 1h uber ride from town center with rush hour traffic and then It's a bit of a long walk through a park and then uphill from the street (plan an extra 20mn), and google says it can be very busy with long lines, but it was fine the morning I went (early morning is best)
Nice views from the hill:
Had to go through 2 lawyers of security that do not even allow water in. That was non ideal... Eventually got there though, and we paid a private guide who gave us a 1h tour:
the stained glass, shipped all the way from Paris by boat and re-assembled, looked wonderful
I looked up the address in Paris, of course that was over 100 years ago ;)
After the castle, it was another walk through the park to another exit and got to see many vendors, to go to the excellent archeological museum across the street (but still a long walk):
The last thing I had time for, was the National Antropological Museum, pretty close to Chapultepec Castle, and it was a very impressive and pretty complete museum on the history of the land and civilizations, going back thousands of years. Unfortunately I didn't navigate in the correct order, so the history was somewhat backwards, but nonetheless the place was super interesting.
There isn't much left of the pyramid that was in Mexico City (Mayor Templo), but Teotihuacan is very well preserved with its multiple temples, and even some murals are still left, worth the side trip for sure.
Of course, there are some tourist attractions nearby that the tour got to visit first. We first got to learn how Tequilla is made out of cactus, as well as all the things that cactus can be used for:
there is an anti sweat layer inside that can be used as paper
the fibers can also be used as strings
mezcal is mostly tequilla with worms in it ;)
I did mention that masked wrestling is a big thing in Mexico?
I used to watch wrestling as a teenager but had never seen a show in person, and Lucha Libre was listed as one of the things to do in CDMX, so I gave it a shot. It was of course silly and had a few expanded "rules" compared to the wrestling I used to watch (3 on each team instead of 2), but otherwise it was the same half ridiculous but entertaining show I had seen before, even if I could not understand the spanish (which ultimately didn't make a huge difference anyway).
Lucha Libre Wrestling is very popular in Mexico, lots of merch in the city:
Very strangely, cameras were not allowed but taking pictures with cell phones, was. Go figure...
While in CDMX, I had a bit of extra time end of day, so going to to Aquario Inbursa made sense. It was split in 2 buildings and had a few more unusual things in the 2nd building:
nurse sharks and bamboo sharks are some of my favorites
Salamenders are very cool, land animals that went back in water
It was a bit of a last minute trip, and challenging to attend as all tickets (GA, GA+ and VIP, although they had different weird names), had sold out. In the end, although it felt risky, I was able to get some on stubhub, and thankfully they worked.
Just like EDC Vegas, it is also located at a racetrack in the middle of Mexico City, although I would say it is maybe only 50% of the size of EDC Vegas, but all the bits that mattered were there and I was quite impressed by the setup for what I was worried might be a lesser EDC. I was delighted to be wrong.
The one thing that may have been a surprise was the altitude (7350ft or 2240 meters) which will definitely get people out of breath. Thankfully I had just gotten home from a snowboarding trip at higher altitudes, so that was not an issue for me, but I could tell it was for others. The one surprise I didn't know about was a nearby volcano that has been constantly putting some amount of ash in the air, and that was affecting the air quality, making breathing harder, especially for those with allergies. Actually the ash was bad enough that it cancelled the fireworks on the first 2 days, and cancelled most flights a few days later as enough ash in the air will actually damage jet engines.
Back to EDC, arriving the day before helped a bit, and getting there via uber the day of, was not too bad (nearby hotels were booked or too expensive). The one downside was it was a very long walk from the dropoff point. It was so long of a walk that you could pay people on bikes to bike you part of it, but even then it took 15 to 20mn from the street to being at the security gate.
So, let's look at EDC Mexico. How does it compare with EDC Vegas? The venue definitely has room, although the footprint used is smaller than EDC Vegas. Yet, it was still big and all the things from EDC that I've come to enjoy, were there:
The Grounds:
lots of people getting in when we arrived on day 1
outside the venue was filled with unofficial vendors
after a long walk or hired bike ride, you got to the rainbows
nice owl during the day
and nicer at night, even :)
other nice burning man-like art
a much smaller pixel forest, but still nice
Many food vendors, including dicks :) but since they required that "stay in line to get some and lose anything left over every day" wristband money, didn't get anything, and vendors lost out:
Ah, one thing I need to mention is that smoking was prohibited across the entire festival, including vaping. One thing I read said "all nicotine containing products". Obviously nicotine is not great for you, but I personally don't mind if others vape. Not sure if it's over reaching or not, altough I personally didn't mind:
I already mentioned it looked like a smaller EDC Vegas, and it did. Electric Avenue was nice:
road to kinetic fields
definitely a good job decking out the place with lights
oooh, shiny :)
VIP area also had video games. Why not? :)
They had 2 very nice Ferris Wheels, which I always enjoy to get a view from higher up:
Let's have a look at the grounds from higher up:
stereo bloom
yes, it was in the middle of skateboard park, which made getting around awkward when it was full
nice LED art :)
The People
Great to see the insomniac performers, awesome team as always
the performers deserved extra credit for wearing costumes in warm weather and working in thinner air
OMG, and ran into pixies.poly, hard to recognize under that costume :)
Running into good friends, as always :)
and more :)
Also, finally got to meet Thor Wixom, videographer extraordinaire:
woot!
Day #1: Trance Day at Stereobloom. Mexico Love Trance!
Day 1 was mostly spent at Stereo bloom, as it had a great Trance lineup that day. While the stage was literally on top of a skateboard park, it was a bit weird from the attendee side, but the stage itself was stellar and the visuals quite good. They were not dreamstate mainstage or quantum valley good, but very close.
had just seen Rinaly weeks before at Unkonscious, but happy to see her again :)
Day 2, arrived a bit earlier (it also started earlier), but warmer air is more thin, harder to breathe and hot. Unless you're a local, it was definitely harder to party until the sun, until it set. No trance on day 2, so it was a good excuse to walk around and check out all the stages and other music:
kudos for wearing this in the sun :)
first time seeing kinetic field, it looked identical and as pretty as the Vegas one
Bionic Jungle was stellar, and used the beautiful jaguara from Burning Man, which was fantastic:
I have to give props to the visuals guys again, they were awesome
Went to check out VIP for kinetic fields for an OK-ish side view:
such a beautiful stage
Circuit Grounds also looked fairly similar to EDC Vegas:
Day #3: Another trance at stereobloom day, lovely!
Arrived just in time for some psytrance with Lumina
Interactive Noise
a bit of techcno in the middle
so went to check out Circuit Grounds in the blazing sun
Back for John 00 Flemming
John is always having such a great time :)
David Forbes barely made it (late plane), but did make it!
Then Will Atkinson came to bring the energy even higher!
By the time infected Mushroom arrived, the place was packed to hell, in an unsafe way (almost impossible to get in or out)
Maddix
Then back to mainstage just before Armin:
they did have lasers, but they weren't used enough in my opinion
finally, fireworks were allowed!
And that was it, end of day 3. Managed to get out in a dense crowd and catch an uber back.
Video Summary:
Security
First, I need to state that while some parts of Mexico need to be avoided carefully, the mexican government allocates security to keep big cities and tourist areas safe, so basically going to Mexico City (also called CDMX), is perfectly safe.
Security was impressive. They were *very* thorough, as apparently locals like to cheat, have fake wristbands and jump fences ;) and yet they did a fantastic job having the most thorough perimeter security I've seen, including double checks of tickets and thorough checks of wristbands before entering VIP areas.
More importantly I really appreciated that they focussed security on what mattered, while not being dicks at the entrance and during searches, unlike some other festivals I won't name, like one at a beach in holland :) I'm told that locals can be a hard to handle bunch, and they honestly did a great job without any unnecessary show of force, which I've seen in other places. This takes special training and restraint, and I was positively impressed.
The search getting in was thorough without being over-reaching, and yet efficient:
Should you go? Would I go Back?
After the flight to mexico city, it was easy to get to the festival or to/from hotels
Overall mexico city is way cheaper than vegas
Ah, but they had that bullshit wristband money that was required inside the venue. That is the one thing I was quite unhappy about as always. Not only forcing its use for people who already have contactless credit cards, is not ok, but worse, 3 day wristbands were 3 single day wristbands, and you lost the money you had on the previous day's wristband if you didn't use it. Absolutely unacceptable, but more generally while cashless is ok, forcing wristband money is not ok. I bought absolutely nothing in protest of this BS. I'm not standing in a long line to put money in a wristband to stand in another line to get what I wanted just to do it again forever unless I put a lot of money that I won't get back if I don't use all of it.
Festival was from 14:00 to 02:00 due to neighbors. I don't mind festivals starting in the afternoon, but the sun before sunset was punishing. It was quite warm and we went hiding in the shade until sunset.
that said 14:00 to 02:00 is 10:00h of partying for 3 days, so that's plenty, even the first hours under the sun, were be rough
I have no idea how they got away with going until 02:00 when people literally lived behind the stage blasting bass :)
Altitude and air pollution was no joke for many. Not a reason not to go, but keep it in mind
Like other insomniac festivals, all the staff truly cares and goes all out. MAny small details that get sometimes missed elsewhere, are usually flawless
Not as many carnival rides as EDC Vegas due to lack of space, but still a few and 2 nice ferris wheels
Smoking prohibited throughout the festival, was pretty cool, even if not 100% enforced.
Can't go to Vegas or afford EDC Vegas? If so, EDC Mexico is a very fine choice, you will not be disappointed.
Looking for a different vibe/atmosphere? Mexicans know how to party. The atmosphere was fantastic!
Conclusion
AMy first EDC Mexico, although it was sold out, it didn't feel too crowded. I think the capacity limit was probably related to the ability to evacuate, and except for stereobloom that was kind of a death trap with a big choke point if it was full, the rest of the venue worked out great.
Thoughts about the Mexico location:
it was easy to get to (10mn away from airport and enough hotels within 20mn drive)
Driving yourself may have been a mess, not sure how parking worked out, but while I was worried about not getting ubers on the way out, after walking 10mn away from the venue, was able to get an uber all 3 nights. Traffic was a bit gridlocked, so walking away from it also helped.
Kinetic field looks just like the Vegas one, honestly the whole thing looked like a smaller version of the Vegas festival while still feeling very well done, including lots of decors.
2 days out of 3 with lots of trance at Stereo Bloom (the local quantum valley). 3 day was used to go see everything else. It worked great.
Again, I'll repeat that lots of teams did a great job for this pretty flawless end result. Well done! But please stop the required wristband money bullshit, that part is not ok. Wristband money should only be for people who don't have contactless credit cards/pay by phone. It is not faster, it is definitely not secure, and keeping leftover money at the end of each day, is absolutely unacceptable!
Mexico has a rich history from the Mayans and other first nations, and they built really impressive temples for the times. Unfortunately there is very little left of the really cool one in Mexico City, but the ruins and museum in its place were still quite interesting to visit.
This is what it used to look like:
CDMX, Ciudad de Mexico, also known as Mexico City, being the capital of Mexico, was much higher than I thought, 7300ft or over 2000 meters of altitude. It's not montainous looking, but it's a high plateau and definitely a bit harder to breathe at for flat landers :) While I was ready for that, I had no idea that the city was also pretty close to an active volcano that routinely spews ash in the air, and it was doing that when I went to visit during EDC Mexico, so the air quality was poor, which added to the altitude, makes things challenging for some.
Then Palacio De Bellas Artes was an interesting building to visit, with ok-ish displays inside:
After EDC Mexico was over, for a half day, it was best to go check out the Aquario Inbursa (click for blog and more pictures)
Next door was the Museo Sumaya, interesting building from the outside;
Next was time to check out the Museum of Tequilla and Mezcal, do a premium tasting and a dinner on its plaza:
The next day was a day tour to see the Pyramids of Teotihuacan (click for blog)
The tour started with a stop at Basilica of Our LAdy Guadalupe:
Then, we went to see the pyramids, and after coming back from the tour, a bit of time to burn so I quickly checked out the local Ripley's. It was ok-ish, at best, but a good way to spend 1h before the evening activity:
The last day started with Chapultepec Castle (click for the blog with more details):
And the day ended with just enough time to visit National Antropological Museum (click for blog) before having to head to the airport for the flight home
And that was it for the visit of CDMX. Happy to have been able to see the hightlights.
While this year has not been an above average snow season, this storm made things a bit better. Turns out that sunday only had a few inches and might not have been worth the early trip, but it's always hard to say after the fact and I prefer to get through Carson Spur and stay at KW during storms. Thankfully I had a friend who had a condo there and was able to host me saturday night, saving me an early sunday morning drive:
got through the Spur just as the snow as starting to stick
I did a quick charging stop at jackson since I wasn't sure when I'd charge at KW, but in hindsight I could have driven there direct and arrived with 15% left (day drive, no headlights, no heat, warmer temps). Nice to see my car can still make it there in one shot when the conditions are good:
found this as jackson supercharger
Day 1: Sunday, a few inches
Unfortunately it was timed over president's day weekend which was a blackout on my pass, but given the price of lodging ($400/night), paying an extra day for a lift pass was ok-ish (but it used to be half price, now it's almost full price, $170). As a result, Sunday was not very busy since most passholders were blacked out. Only a few inches of fresh snow, but that was still good ;)
not very deep, but still nice
went pow hunting
finally could ride to the rock under the wall
Day 2: Monday, 18 inches
For the main pow day, we sure got the snow, but it was a bit too warm/wet and I could only sink a few inches, it didn't feel that deep.
not that deep like I said
not that busy for a deep pow day
the chutes were still a bit shallow
astill a sheet of ice
Despite the slighly hard powder, it was still a very nice day.
Firat run:
Day 3: Tuesday, 10 inches of fluffy pow
Agsinst all expectations, the 3rd day had the best powder. It was nice and light, a pleasure to ride:
not too many people
Chair 4 finally opened, it was worth checking out :)
the wave was pristine
I did have to hike back up to find a pole I dropped, took 25mn because of deep the snow was
Awesome snow:
Fawn ridge was stellar:
Day 4: Tuesday, 4 inches for the last day
The 4th day wasn't the best pow day ever, but it was still quite enjoyable and it was still fun to chase freshies for another day:
not much of a line
my watch told me I snowboarded too much :)
haha, one more day before I can rest :)
went to check out a wall chute
Still good runs:
By the way, this is why I why I get underground parking, getting this car out will be an hour of work with a shovel...
All in all this was a good trip, with plenty of enjoyable snow and kirkwood staff did an awesome job opening terrain timely, as well as communicating what they were doing. Thanks Ricky Newberry, the new GM, for running a great ship.
It had been about 1.5 years since Gareth did LSR/City at San Jose Civic, and it was great to see him again. As I always say "More Lasers Please" :)
Of course, it's difficult not to compare this show compared to the show he did 18 months ago, and I'll be honest, it was pretty similar. I was disappointed that the show was only 1.5h instead of the 2H I expected and thinking that it ended at midnight, but it was over at 23:30 sharp. Then I went to check my records from the last show and found out it was also 1h30 only and the only show that was 2H was the original Laserface at Bill Graham in 2018 which remains the best one ever that has never been topped.
Laser-wise, from my imperfect memory, the to SJ LSR/City shows were pretty simliar. The music changed of course, and I liked both, even if I loved "Bring out the lasers" dubstep mix that was in last time. Still, it had all the classics and a variety of genres, it felt like a good selection. Gareth did play some keyboards live, and Annabel got more stage with more singing that she did beautifully.
The big plus this time around was that Annabel was properly lit on stage and it was much easier to see her perform which was a great bonus:
thanks to my real camera, was able to get a few shots from the very back
However, the big plus from this time around at least for us in San Jose, was that Gareth did the show twice, and that was great news because it allowed us to see the show from the rear on the first night, and front row center the 2nd night, and that was definitely a very different experience (both worth doing):
Day 1
Thanks to Ulrich and Insomniac for helping the make the show happen:
like all insomniac shows now, thank you for the free water
Two of our local DJs played from 20:00 to 22:00:
Yeah Shane!
And Garath did 22:00 to 23:30:
one addition was the storyboard, nice
Most of the show from the rear:
Day 2
Back for more, this time, front pit...
different vantage point for sure, worth seeing too
Gareth was playing live
Gareth seemed to have a good time :)
end of night #2
Some of the show from the front
Thoughts/Suggestions
lighting on stage was much much better, so great to see Annabel properly this time around
Laser show seemed pretty similar than last time, very enjoyable but not to the level of the original laserface in 2018
1.5h felt short, consider going back to 2H?
people with VIP tickets had seats that were supposed to be reserved, but really they were not, anyone could go there making the extra price debatable
Thank you Gareth, Annabel, and all the tech guys who do the laser magic, for the great show!
Unkonscious Festival after 4 days around Pattaya, ended with 2 Days in Bangkok, so that was a good reason to go visit it again before having to fly back. This was a quick visit compared to my [visiting Bangkok in 2023|], but was good as a day overview
I took my friend to the main palaces, starting with the royal palace:
Then the big reclining buddha is a short walk away:
And a few more temples:
quick river crossing
And the golden temple in time for sunset:
A bit more time to check out downtown:
After that, one last Unkonscious party, day #6, and went directly back to the airport for flights home.
