Robberies at local ski resorts increase

With snow in abundance this winter season, skiers and snowboarders should exercise caution when visiting their favorite haunts. Robberies of local ski resorts around the area are on the rise, according to local police departments.

Chris Barnett, a concerned parent, contacted to The Heights last week about the theft of his son's snowboard at Nashoba Valley Ski Resort and what he had heard of the current robberies around the area. His son, a high school sophomore, was skiing with a high school group when his equipment was stolen off the rack.

"They left their equipment on a rack in front of the lodge while they were checking in with the chaperone - they were about 200 feet from the rack, for less then five minutes," said Barnett. "In that time, the board was removed from the rack."

He said the thieves focused on stealing snowboards because his older son's skis and two pairs of racing skis were left unharmed on the same rack.

They are frequent customers of Nashoba, visiting the resort about four to five times every season but they have never lost gear there or on any other resorts.

Although, Barnett said, "[he has] been told by friends never to leave gear unlocked at Blue Hills."

Barnett said Nashoba made little effort to reimburse them for the loss.

"The Westford police, where we went to report the theft, said that this was happening a lot at Nashoba and the officer who took the report said they think it is an organized activity," said Barnett.

Jonathan Andrews, an employee at Nashoba Valley, said snowboard theft has increased lately at the resort.

"We usually have people watching the slopes at all times but maybe now we aren't doing as well as we used to because there have currently been nine stolen snowboards, while only three were recovered," said Andrews. "There have been two arrests, but we strongly advise people to use the lockers available to them and buy a personal lock for the racks."

Nashoba Valley's typical procedure for handling things of this nature is to first get a description and then search the parking lot and some nooks and crannies around the area, according to Andrews.

"More often than not, the case is that someone just misplaced their boards and by looking around the area, we are able to verify their claims or find their board," he said.

After searching for the missing equipment, if the person requests it, Nashoba Valley will contact the police to notify them of the stolen item.

"This year has been a pretty quiet year for skiing but over the past several years there have been more incidents at Nashoba," said Capt. Edward Cosette of Westford Police.

When police get a report of stolen equipment, they try to get as much information from the skier as possible, said Cosette. The officer will try to get the make, model, and serial number of the board. Cosette encourages skiers to always use the ski racks and make sure that their equipment is secure, saying that a lock is key to keeping things safe.

"There have been few-to-none reports depending on the day and sometimes it's just one person that comes and steals a mass amount of snowboards," said Lisa Christian, an employee at Wachusett Mountain Ski Resort.

Wachusett has been taking precautionary steps to put an end to this problem and offer a variety of options for their customers to keep their equipment safe during their stay.

"[They] have a free ski watch where the customers are able to check in their gear, much like a coat check, and can just come back for it later on," said Christian.

"There have been no problems of that kind at Blue Hills and that they keep ski patrols on site and alert people to keep equipment with them at all times," said Robert Ford, a Blue Hills Ski Resort employee. "There was a snowboard stolen earlier this season, but that was the only extent to which anything had been stolen. We've been lucky here."

Ski robberies that happen on Wachusett Mountain are handled by their own ski resort security, said Officer Benson of the Westminister Police force.

The police may assist at times, but on a day-to-day basis, all cases and reports are taken care of by the ski resort security personnel.

He encourages everyone to take full advantage of the use of the ski racks, where anyone is allowed to check in their skis and snowboards to keep them safe.

Students' reactions to the warnings vary.

"In the few times I've been there, nothing has ever really been stolen from me or my friends," said Dan Shin, A&S '08. "As long as you keep your gear with you at all times and make sure that if you have to leave, you check it into the ski lodge."

"I just leave my stuff at the lounge. I carry my cash with me but I leave my shoes and gear over there. Nothing's really been stolen from me," said Leah Tangney, CSOM '08.