Top Colorado ski destination experiencing a spike in stolen skis, snowboards

One of Colorado’s top ski destinations has seen a significant increase in ski and snowboard theft so far this season.

Since the start of the ski season on Nov. 10 through Dec. 31, there have been 21 reported ski and snowboard thefts in Breckenridge, according to Breckenridge Police Department administrative supervisor Colleen Goettelman.

“It’s a general base-area issue because people can walk away from their equipment,” Goettelman said. “It’s a matter of keeping your eyes on your gear, keeping it with you, locking it up.”

At Breckenridge Ski Resort this year, ski equipment has been stolen from the base areas of Peak 9, Peak 8 and Peak 7 — basically anywhere where people leave their equipment unattended, Goettelman said.

Compared to past years, the number of reported instances of ski and snowboard thefts in Breckenridge has skyrocketed. According to data for the same time period (opening day to Dec. 31), only three ski and snowboard thefts were reported in Breckenridge in 2022, only nine were reported in 2021 season and zero were reported in 2020, Goettelman said.

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Still, even as ski and snowboard thefts appear to be on the rise in Breckenridge, the rest of the county is not necessarily showing the same trend, according to Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons.

Since the start of the ski season, there have been about 12 reported ski and snowboard thefts in unincorporated Summit County, FitzSimons said. Unincorporated parts of the county include three ski areas — Keystone Resort, Copper Mountain Resort and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. Only Breckenridge Ski Resort falls in a town police department’s jurisdiction.

“It ebbs and flows over the years,” FitzSimons said of ski and snowboard theft, “usually at the beginning of the season and the end of the season — when there is limited terrain open and people are kind of all forced to a base area and there isn’t a lot of ski storage.”

Outside of Breckenridge, ski and snowboard theft in Summit County remains about average this year, FitzSimons said. He noted that the Summit County Sheriff’s Office recovered two pieces of equipment and made an arrest earlier this year in one case where ski equipment was stolen.

Breckenridge Ski Resort senior communications manager Sara Lococo said in an email there are day and overnight equipment checks available at the Peak 8 and Peak 9 base areas where customers can safely stash their skis or snowboards for $9 per day, or $17 overnight.

For any equipment that is lost or potentially stolen, Breckenridge Ski Resort encourages guests to submit a Lost and Found report that can be found on the ski resorts website.

“When you’re at the mountain, our ski check locations are great options to safely store your equipment,” Lococo said. “Purchasing and using a lock designed for ski and snowboard gear is another way to help keep your gear safe whenever you are in the mountain or in town.”

To give law enforcement the most information possible if equipment is stolen, skiers and riders should record the serial number on their equipment, keep photos of the gear and know the brand and model of equipment, including bindings, Goettelman said.

Marking equipment with identifiable features like stickers or contact information could also help recover skis or snowboards that have been lost or stolen, FitzSimons added. Moreover, the sheriff’s office in recent months has had success recovering expensive equipment marked with AirTags, which are small geo-locating devices, he said.

“Don’t be complacent,” FitzSimons said. “Ski gear is expensive. Protect your property.”

This story is from SummitDaily.com