Visiting Ice Ice Maybe
It was 11am and the water in my camelback was already going from tepid to warm in the 105 degree heat - all I could think about was an ice-cold drink. As I pedaled down to 4:15 and C, I was curious what I’d find. I had been intrigued by a friend who’d told me that this camp was on a mission to de-commodify ice on the playa, using the power of the sun to produce their icy treasures.
As I approached the camp, a beautiful acrylic sign in soothing shades of blue and white proudly announced their name: Ice Ice Maybe (the pun, I must admit, brought a smile to my face). A large white igloo dome sat off to the left, its gridded white-and-blue exterior giving it an almost-realistic 3D ice-block look. I was struck by the whimsical decorations that adorned the camp's shade structures and giant swing set - snowflakes, arctic foxes, narwhals and polar bears and other creatures greeted me in various forms, their sculptures, mobiles, and paintings creating a stark contrast to the arid landscape that surrounded us.
Wandering deeper into the camp, I was greeted by the warm smiles and enthusiastic chatter of its members. A bearded man in a flower crown studded with sparkling snowflakes was eager to share the camp's story, proudly explaining their solar setup and the progress they had made in increasing their ice production over the past few years. He said he’d be happy to share the plans for their original setup with me - apparently this year half a dozen camps were using their open-source schematics for solar ice production.
It wasn't long before I found myself participating in one of their unique offerings for wandering playa souls: a budget cryotherapy session in the igloo. The experience was best enjoyed with minimal clothing or nude, a cute woman in a walrus costume told me. So, stripping down to my underwear, I allowed myself to be gently covered in ice packs and an ice mask, their cold embrace providing a much-needed respite from the oppressive heat. I savored the sensations as the walrus used an ice roller (with consent) on my arms and legs and the ice packs slowly cooled my body off.
The principle of de-commodification, one of the core tenets of Burning Man, had been making strides in recent years, with the Center Camp eliminating the sale of coffee, among other steps. Ice Ice Maybe, I had been told, was taking this concept even further, seeking to one day provide a sustainable alternative to the environmentally costly and wasteful practice of trucking in ice in from Reno, which came wrapped in single-use plastic bags.
After my cryotherapy session, I was treated to a solar-powered smoothie, the refreshing concoction blended to perfection with solar ice in a solar-powered blender and a mix of fruit of my choosing. It was a delicious reminder of the potential for sustainability and innovation, even in the middle of the desert.
As I sipped my icy treat, a camp member arrived in a flurry of fabulousness, pedaling a cargo bike with a large blue ice box, a plastic penguin perched atop. This "Ice Delivery Penguin", I was told, had just returned from delivering insulated reusable boxes of gift ice to a lucky camp nearby. “Did I miss the snowball fight?” the penguin asked. “No,” said a man in santa underwear, “but you’re just in time to help us set up.”
I watched as the penguin and the walrus spread out a huge white tarp and procured four bowling-pin sized penguin figurines to create a court with two larger zones on the end and a smaller space sandwiched between them, which I guesses was was no-man’s land. The man in the santa underwear asked me if I wanted to see their ice factory as he walked towards a hexagonal structure with a silvery reflective exterior and I followed him.
I detected hints of Dr. Bronner’s citrus on him as we stepped into a small vestibule sticking out of one of the hexagon’s faces. Once the outer door was shut, we opened the inner door and a coolness began to blanket my body as we moved inside. He said his name was Alex and then he began began pointing out all the various components inside the tent.
A large white reservoir of water sat on the desert floor, the water about 70% of the 50 gallon capacity he said was required to make 417 pounds of ice (or 189 kgs of ice from 189 liters). A pair of large silver machines sat to the left of the water, the ice machines humming gently as they froze the water. An ice maker is faster than an ordinary ice cube tray, Alex explained, because the refrigerant in the machine allows it to circulate cold air more rapidly, allowing the water to freeze quickly and evenly, allowing them to produce upwards of 200 pounds a day. He opened the lid of a large chest freezer and beckoned me over. Inside was a treasure trove of brilliant white snow they’d made earlier. He grabbed a shovel and a large white cooler and began filling them up. “Ammo,” he said as he added the last few scoops and lidded it. He asked me to grab a handle - it was heavy! We walked the cooler out and he showed me where to place it at one end of the penguin-demarcated field of play.
By that time, a couple dozen or so people had come to line up near the field and more were arriving on foot or parking their bikes. By helping him out, Alex said, I could go third in line if I wanted to. Not wanting to miss out on this ridiculous game, I got in line. The walrus wandered out from under a shade structure and stepped into the center of the pitch as another cooler full of snow was added to the other end of the field. “You first six on the sideline over here,” she said, motioning towards the right side, “and you next six on the other side.” She explained that the center strip was a no-man’s land. “Play until the snow runs out,” she said and raised a bone horn to her lips and blew a long, loud note. The lids of the coolers were removed.
We scrambled to our respective coolers, scooping up handfuls and packing them into balls, the snow’s cool touch welcome on my palms, and began pelting the other side. My teammates and I laughed and shrieked as we ducked and weaved to avoid incoming fire. It was all over in about five minutes and I had taken four good hits, the melting snow sending wonderful shivers up my spine.
Later, after five rounds of fights had depleted the camp’s snow reserves, a man dressed in an arctic fox suit sidled over to me and asked if I was familiar with the Ice-T song, Ice Ice Baby. As I nodded, he said I was in for a treat. An assembly of arctic creatures assembled before the igloo - a tall man in a musk ox suit dominating the center of the pack. The familiar opening of Ice Ice Baby came on over the sound system and the creatures began to sing:
Yo, Playa, let's kick it!
Ice Ice Maybe
Ice Ice Maybe
Alright, stop, collaborate and listen
Ice Ice Maybe's back with a brand new mission
Sun's energy, we're gonna harness tightly
Making smoothies daily and nightly
Will it ever stop?
Yo, I don't know
But we keep on blending, never gonna slow
To the extreme, I rock an icicle like a vandal
Light up the stage and wax a walrus's mustache like a candle
Ice, ice, maybe, we're producing ice from the sun
Arctica won't know what hit 'em, they'll be done
Harnessing the power of solar energy
Our ice will be the freshest, believe me
Now that the party is jumping
With the campers here, no time for slumping
Sunnie and Chris are on point, whipping up some icy treats
While John's on the ice delivery bike, cruising the streets
Jake and Bill on the solar, powering the scene
Erik and Kylie, keeping people cool like wintergreen
Clem and Max, making sure the everything's flowing
Give Charlie some sunscreen - his face is glowing
Check out our dome, it's the coolest spot
Budget cryotherapy, ready for your shot
If there was a problem, yo, we'll solve it
Check out the hook while our solar panels revolve it
Come to our camp, we’ll carol into the night
Bring glory to your name in a snowball fight
Sharing icy love with the desert crowd
Ice, Ice, Maybe, we're frosty and proud
Dance, while the DJ revives the bass
Smoothies in hand, arctic creatures all over the place
Ice delivery bike, rolling through the dust
Ice, Ice, Maybe, it’s Black Rock City or bust
Word to the arctic fox
We're out here doing it unorthodox
Vanilla Ice may have started this beat
But with solar-powered ice, we can't be beat
At the end of the song, the musk ox said thank you to everyone for coming and said they’d be holding a snowman building contest on Thursday, in two days, as well as singing carols and serving a hearty winter meal.
And as I left the camp that afternoon, the taste of my solar-powered smoothie still lingering on my lips, I couldn't help but feel that the spirit of Ice Ice Maybe – and the larger ethos of Burning Man – had left an indelible mark on my soul. For in this temporary city of dust, dreams, and radical self-expression, I had found something truly magical: the power of community to create fun, lighthearted but meaningful change, one solar-powered ice cube at a time.
Interested in learning more? Visit iceicemaybe.org or if you’d like to become a founding supporter of the infrastructure for this project, please donate here:
Thank you!