By Jon Crowley
Winter riding at Sand Mountain Recreation Area can be cold. Located east of Fallon in northern Nevada, the dune system sits at roughly 4,000 feet in elevation. Temperatures in the teens are common at night, and a daytime high approaching 50 degrees can feel downright warm.
The forecast for this December 2013 weekend looked good enough for our crew to stay closer to home and ride Sand Mountain rather than make the longer trip to the warmer dunes of Southern California.
Freezing Fog in Northern Nevada
As we drove through Nevada, Fallon was completely socked in by freezing fog. The fog began to clear as we traveled east of town, although many of the surrounding mountains were still covered in ice.
That became the weather pattern for the weekend: freezing fog rolled in at night and then burned off during the day. It was the first time I had experienced fog like that, and I wasn’t a big fan of it.
Preparing the Polaris RZR XP 1000
I brought our Polaris RZR XP 1000 project, which had recently received several upgrades in preparation for the King of the Hammers UTV race in February.
For additional power, I installed a Muzzys Performance dual exhaust and Gen 4 DigiTune fuel controller. We added a Warn ProVantage 3500 winch up front, along with Rigid Industries amber accent lights. UTV Inc.’s switch panel and backlit rocker switches helped finish the electrical installation.
For the dunes, I mounted our GMZ sand tires and was ready to ride.
Exploring Sand Mountain
My son joined me for the trip, and we spent the weekend taking rides and doing a little geocaching. He had received a new 55–300mm camera lens for Christmas and used the trip as an opportunity to practice shooting UTV action photos.
Aerial Filming with Copter Kids
On Saturday, we connected with a group that had traveled from Reno for the day. Several members of the group were with Copter Kids, a company that specialized in capturing action footage with remote-controlled multirotor aircraft.
They were there to have fun, but they also wanted to test a new six-rotor aircraft carrying a Canon 5D in a stabilized gimbal. Consumer aerial filming was still relatively new in 2013, and watching a professional camera fly alongside the UTVs was impressive.
The short test film they produced looked remarkably polished and offered a glimpse of how aerial cameras would soon change off-road video production.
A Memorable Winter Dune Trip
Despite the freezing fog and cold nights, Sand Mountain delivered a great weekend of riding. The trip gave us time to test the latest upgrades to the RZR XP 1000, explore the dunes with family and watch some cutting-edge aerial filming technology in action.
For current information about the riding area, camping, fees and designated routes, see our complete Sand Mountain Recreation Area guide.
