Gunstock seeks to stem thievery

Officials of Gunstock Mountain Resort are teaming with the Belknap County Sheriff's Department in an effort to stem the rash of thefts of skis and snowboards that has plagued the resort since the ski season began last month.

Sheriff Craig Wiggin said that he has fielded 49 reports of thefts since the resort opened, an increase compared to prior seasons he called alarming. "It's obvious there is some organization to these thefts beyond what we normally see," said the sheriff, who added that his department and Gunstock's management were frustrated that guests of the resort "make it so easy for the thieves to do their work."

Greg Goddard, general manager at Gunstock, echoed Wiggin's concern. "We offer a free ski and snowboard check every day and night that we're open so we can look after guests' equipment while they're not on the slopes, but many people choose not to use it," he said. "Nor do they take the time to lock their equipment to a rack or put it in a secure place." Goddard said that guests often reported their skis or boards were taken when they went to the restroom or got a cup of cocoa.

According to Goddard thieves typically don full snowboarding outfits and boots to become indistinguishable from all those milling about the base area. They spot the equipment they want, wait for the owner to leave it, pick it up as if it is their own and take it to the parking lot. The boldest thieves, he said, will return two or three times to steal equipment.

Wiggin and Goddard are urging the public to register their equipment and secure it when it is out of their sight while at the same time increasing surveillance and security at the resort.

"Registration, or at least recording serial numbers and keeping sales receipts, is important," Wiggin explained, "because it is very difficult to convict a thief and recover a stolen pair of skis or a snowboard if the owner can't positively identify the equipment as being theirs." Since so much equipment looks alike, brand and color, he stressed, is insufficient.

"I've got a whole evidence locker full of stolen equipment that we can't track back to an owner,"Wiggin said. Gunstock is developing registration cards that will enable guests to record serial numbers and other information that will identify its equipment.

Goddard said that the resort is doubling the size of its check room and reducing the basket fee to encourage guests to use them. He also said that the free ski and snowboard check will be more clearly marked. But, Goddard insisted that guests must take responsibility for their own equipment, remarking that they would not leave their belongings under a table in the food court while they shopped at a mall.

"We've had a number of successes catching thieves," Wiggin said, vowing to maintain a presence at the resort and prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law. "However," he warned, "unless people start taking better care of their belongings, the problem will persist."