This President's Weekend had quite the turnout for 2016. BLM reported an estimated 12,000-15,000 people visited Dumont over the holiday weekend. Vendor row was full and quite busy all weekend with some vendors such as GTP Offroad offering end of season blowouts. This was basically the last big holiday weekend for most so many made it count. Sunny and warm weather made for a beautiful weekend with friends and family at the dunes.
Aerial photos by Tess Roussin
The Las Vegas Jeep Club in coordination with SxS Wars/ K&T Performance put on one of the biggest racing events Dumont has seen in years, Sand Wars! Excitement has been brewing leading up to this event. Many remember last year where there were no races at all due to time constraints and personal commitments with some of the organizers. Well this year they made up for it big time with the Sand Wars. The event was a perfect mix of old and new. Many are into the old Jeeps and dragsters, while the side x sides have grown HUGE in popularity.
Guys like K&T Performance have taken the Polaris RZR to levels nobody has seen before.
On Saturday, duners pulled up and filled the area scouting for the best spot to watch the races. The races consisted of the Jeep Club doing their regular format of hill climb drag races along with their Turtle Crawl. In addition to the Jeep races, the multiple class side x sides raced on the hill as well. The tricked out side x sides turned heads when they lined up and pulled the front tires off the ground. Many don't ever expect that kind of performance from a side x side. Sunday consisted of the 300' sand drag competition with both the dragsters and UTV classes.
With the large crowds you can guess what the nightlife was like over at Comp Hill. Rows and rows of lighted whips and lights filled the entire staging area of Comp. Photographer, Jason Wink, caught some great long exposure shots of the action.
In addition to the excitement going on at Sand Wars, Comp Hill, vendor row, camp and of course the dunes, Banshee Hill had a huge gathering in itself. Racers from Utah, CA, and AZ came out to race each other in typical holiday weekend fashion. North Shore Drag Racing shared some photos of the action.
Throughout the weekend the BLM staff opened it's doors to the public at the Dumont Dunes visitor center. They hosted a "Meet the Medics" open house and desert wildlife display.
Flight for Life made numerous landings throughout the weekend. We only heard of one fatality, but that is one too many. A Utah man died while racing his Banshee on Banshee Hill. Other injuries occurred in other various accidents including a couple accidents on Comp Hill and a broken femur which was near a major artery and the person required immediate Flight for Life medical attention.
To share your own pics and stories, hop on to our forum and post it to the community, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20585
For some people, a wedding engagement usually takes place in a hot air balloon or over a candle lit dinner. Well not for this couple! After being together for 4 years it was time to make it official. Over President's Day Weekend, Kennon Werner popped the question to his girlfriend, Brittnee Bennett, at the top of Comp Hill. The couple, from St George, UT, have been together for 4 years and visit several dunes throughout the year. Dumont has always been a favorite for them and will now hold a special meaning.
Congratulations to Kennon and Brittnee!
Over President's Weekend around 3 PM on Friday afternoon, a Utah man was killed while racing his Banshee ATV up Banshee Hill. He apparently rode off of a steep drop off at the top of the hill. While it it uncertain at this point, some assumed his throttle stuck. Flight for Life was called out but it was too late and he succumbed to his injuries and passed away in his son's arms at Dumont. CHP and the coroner were called in because of the fatal accident. The man, Tony Costanzo, was 53 and was from Provo, Utah. Drag racing Banshees was his passion.
If you would like to help his family with burial expenses, please follow the GoFundMe link,
https://www.gofundme.com/mkamnhac
Forum link, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20587
It's one of the biggest holiday weekends of the season, President's Day Weekend! Not only is it a holiday weekend, but this year the Las Vegas Jeep club is coming back with even more action. The Las Vegas Jeep Club and K&T Performance's SXS Wars have teamed up to bring you SANDWARS over President's Day Weekend. That's right. There will be hill climbs and drag races with multiple classes of Jeeps and side x sides. More info on Sand Wars here.
The BLM will have their Dumont Visitor Center Open all weekend with information about Dumont and it's surrounding areas. They will also have JR Ranger Activity Guides for kids 6-12 yrs old. There will be daily safety and wildlife programs at 11 AM and 2 PM. Something new this year is Meet the Medics Open House! At 4:30 on Feb 13th. There will be free coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks while you get a chance to meet the BLM staff that manages Dumont Dunes.
Oh and one last things...DUNING! Don't forget to go have some fun in the sand and tear it up. The dunes are in great condition right about now. We wish you all a fun filled weekend and like always, keep an extra eye out for each other. Happy duning!
It's the time of year to give back and take care of the amazing playground that mother nature offers to us, Dumont Dunes. Let's face it, some trash and things sometimes get left behind in fire pits or in camp when we go out to play in the sandbox. The annual cleanup is our chance to spend just a few hours of our day to make sure the dunes are free of trash. This year the Friends of El Mirage are stepping up to help the Barstow BLM with the cleanup. Usually Friends of Dumont Dunes are the ones who put it on, but over the last couple years lack of organization support has left the group without any active board members.
So grab your sunglasses, gloves and friends and come out for a weekend or even just the day to help give back to Dumont. Lunch will be provided and all volunteers will receive a wristband which will get you in and out of Dumont for free that weekend. If you have any question email the contacts on the banner below, leave a comment here on our page or on the forum link provided.
forum discussion: http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20562
A group of us headed out to take advantage of the empty dunes. As much as we like the energy of a holiday weekend, quiet empty dunes are more our style. It gives us a chance to rail the dunes without the added risk of other dune traffic.
Dumont was empty Friday morning and it was as nice as it gets out there. Temperatures were in the 60's and there was abundant sunshine. It was pretty much 50's and 60's weather all weekend. Saturday was very cloudy and overcast, but it stayed warm and there was only a slight breeze. Sunday it was back to sunshine without a cloud in the sky.
We only saw a couple groups pass by when we would stop to take a break in the dunes. It was mostly side x sides and a couple quads. The dunes were soft and dry on top and about 8" down there was some moisture from recent rain. They were smooth until later in the day on Saturday. By then we had left quite a few tracks from our buggies. The duning was great!
We burned through some fuel this weekend as our GPS told us we duned almost 100 miles! That was impressive to find out but not as impressive as zero breakdowns. At one point we had 8 sandrails and not one issue. Nobody getting hurt and nobody breaking down is a perfect weekend in our book.
There was one close call though. Lou B flopped a razorback in normal fashion but he quickly found out it was a slipface razorback with very little sand towards the top. His car was literally on it's side at one point but luckily he stayed on the throttle, steered into it and the car landed perfectly on all fours at the bottom. It was quite a sight to see. We took a well needed break after that to take a breather and have a good laugh about it.
https://vimeo.com/152938331
https://vimeo.com/153329003
More photos from this trip and full trip report on the forum, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20555
Although it was technically a holiday weekend out Dumont, you would never know it by the looks of things. The only action was at Banshee Hill on Saturday for Four Stroke Association's Four Stroke Wars Xv, their 15 year Anniversary race. As for the rest of the place, it was quiet and empty. "Ghost town" was the phrase that was used. It was a duners weekend...a time to post up on top of a dune and enjoy the silence. By the looks of the member-submitted pics, that is exactly what a few did. Although Dumont offers a great party atmosphere on big holidays, it is just the opposite and is a great place to unwind and turn your brain off on quiet weekends like this one.
H Town Performance UTVs
Gary Frey says, "Great weekend. Practically had the dunes to ourselves"
Derek Carlson posted, "Perfect weather, it was a ghost town."
agphd on Instagram posted "Way Too Much Funn!!!"
mineurbiz on top of Banshee Hill looking down at the 4 Stroke Wars
Kelly's RV Rentals checking out the races
Amy O'Malley Miles posted, "MLK weekend. Chillin' with my family on Banshee Hill & took this cool pic of my bike. Awesome trip!"
forum discussion, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=20541
A Polaris RZR went up in flames Friday afternoon near Banshee Hill. It appears everyone was OK. They had just enough time to pull the seats and some gear out of it.
Around 7:45 AM on Friday Jan 15, a milktruck overturned blocking the highway and caused traffic to come to a standstill in both directions. At approximately 10am, crews had the truck pulled to the side of the roadway wallowing traffic to resume. The driver only suffered minor injuries.
Sand Drags and Hill Climbs presented by the Las Vegas Jeep Club and SXS Wars presented by K&T Performance
Sand Wars 2016 is just around the corner on President’s Day Weekend February 13-15 at the Dumont Dunes, CA. The full event flyer has been released with info on both the Las Vegas Jeep Club Jeep/Truck/Car part of the program as well as the SXS Wars UTV racing presented by K&T Performance.
The Jeep Club side of things will see the normal Jamboree format with Hill Climbs on Saturday followed by 100 yard Sand Drags on Sunday. There have been some tweaks to the class structure for the Sand Drags, full details are listed below.
The SXS Wars will feature UTV action with Hill Races on Saturday (on the same steep hill facing the camp area as the Jeeps) followed by racing on the 100 yard Sand Drags on Sunday.
This is shaping up to be a great weekend of racing at the Dumont Dunes. For more info on this event, contact Shawn Thompson 702-378-3571 or Dave Stidham at 702-338-4606 for Las Vegas Jeep Club info, or Matt Ling at 559-312-6312 for Side by Side Wars UTV info.
