“Is it the end of Burning Man as we know it?” That’s how one US media outlet is reporting on a rocky week for the festival. If you’ve been planning a 2012 adventure to the mythical gathering in the Black Rock Desert, you’re probably across the fraught situation.

A fleet of longtime ‘Burners’ have taken to social media to slam the festival’s new lottery system, which they claim has put tickets in the hands of scalpers. From the registration period in December and January, 43,000 people were selected from a ballot to buy tickets – not all of them true believers, it would seem. Already online auction sites have tickets for sale for well above the regular price. The next chance for all those who missed out comes on 28 March, when 10,000 extra tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. A capacity of 58,000 people has been approved for 2012, and a new permit is pushing for 70,000 by 2016.

Burning Man 2011 sold out for the first time in its history, and inthemix was there to cover the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Check out our video report below.