Woman nearly paralyzed at Burning Man last year plans to go back

A woman who was left nearly paralyzed when she plunged from a climbable Burning Man art installation last year is gearing up for her ninth trip to the desert event — saying its dangers make it “exciting.”

Rachael Gingery of San Francisco tumbled about 20 feet from a sinking-ship sculpture called “Naga & the Captainess” at the 2024 Burn, fracturing her spine, cracking a rib and bruising her spleen and lung.

She spent 16 hours in the event’s makeshift field hospital, known as Rampart, before being sent by ambulance to Reno for scans and further treatment.

“I appreciate that Burning Man is a little bit dangerous,” Gingery told SFGATE on Sunday — as the event kicked off.

“It’s kind of what makes it exciting.”

Her fall was one of 1,524 injuries recorded at last year’s gathering, according to figures from the nonprofit that runs the event. At least one person died in both 2023 and 2024, and thousands more were treated by medics over the past two years.

Burning Man, staged annually in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, draws more than 70,000 people for nine days of art, music, and radical self-expression.

But its scale and environment also create serious hazards: temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, dehydration, drug and alcohol use and towering interactive installations that invite people to climb, slide — and sometimes fall.

The dangers are so baked in that every participant must sign away the right to sue for injury or death.

And yet, the risks haven’t dulled the allure.

Gingery admits the fall could have left her paralyzed but credits her oversized hairpiece and backpack with cushioning the blow.

“It’s kind of miraculous,” she said.

A rep for Burning Man Project, the group that organizes the event, said in a statement to SFGATE that “participant health and safety in Black Rock City is a top priority.”

The group points to Rampart, its on-site clinic staffed by hundreds of doctors and EMTs with X-ray and ultrasound machines, plus three satellite medical tents scattered across the playa.

Still, costs for serious injuries can be crushing. One burner posted a GoFundMe for a $25,000 ambulance ride. Others sought help paying hospital bills after burns from a flaming cocktail or being flung from a giant swing.