Petition Launched After Theft Complaints At Stevens Pass Resort

Winter recreationists at Stevens Pass Ski Resort have launched a petition to reinstate an equipment check service at the resort after citing concerns about property theft.

Ever since the season opened at Stevens on Nov. 29, skiers and snowboarders have been expressing their frustrations over what they say is a continuing rise in stolen equipment, with many pointing the finger at resort owner, Vail Resorts of Broomfield, Colo., for not properly addressing the situation.

Thus far, hundreds of people have signed the petition, which also states in part, "with ever-rising ticket prices and growing resort amenity costs, it seems the least we could expect is a measure of safety and value for our equipment."

Meanwhile, over at Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort, marketing manager Tony Hickok says equipment theft is not a current concern for its patrons.

"Up at Mission Ridge we have an amazing community and that (theft) really hasn't been an issue for us historically. That doesn't mean that it doesn't ever happen but it is very, very rare."

Hickok adds that although instances of theft are low at Mission, it's still a good idea for patrons to clearly mark their property.

"What's way more common is that people will actually grab the wrong gear. So the best thing to do to protect against that happening is to find a great sticker to identify your skis or snowboards with something fun. It makes it really easy to identify who they belong to so someone doesn't accidentally grab your gear thinking it's theirs. That's really what we see when gear goes missing nine times out of ten."

Stevens Pass VP and General Manager, Ellen Galbraith, responded to news of the petition by saying that equipment theft at the resort is actually down from last year and that security is a top priority at Stevens Pass.

She went on note that Stevens has an experienced security team, surveillance cameras, rental lockers, and ski locks available purchase.

There's no word yet about whether the resort plans to meet the demands of the petition and institute a check system for equipment.

Hickok says Mission Ridge does not have a check system for gear and has no plans to implement one since there are no concerns about recursive theft at its resort.