Ski Security

A snowHead

My name is Cole. I am a high school engineering student in Milwaukee, WI. I am part of an engineering project team in a capstone course called Engineering Design and Development.

As part of our capstone project, we are researching possible solutions to prevent the theft of skis and/or ski poles at ski hills, resorts, and mountains. We are in need of participants to complete our short survey. We would greatly appreciate responses from this ski community.

* All answers will remain anonymous and be utilized to justify the design and development of an anti-theft device primarily for skis and/or ski poles *

Below is the link to our survey:
https://forms.gle/RiAEZdE1V7kBUxPz9

A snowHead

Hi Cole,

Welcome to Snowheads.

Oops. Not a great start.

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You need permission
This form can only be viewed by users in the owner's organisation.

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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Same for me... Can't access it

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Is it a problem? Depends where you are

Can be be solved by existing solutions? Yes

Do most people bother? No

Is it worth developing a new mousetrap? Probably not

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

One unexpected benefit of rail bindings is that you can slide one of the toe pieces off and stick it in your pocket if you visit somewhere which might be unsavoury..... Makes them harder to ski off with and less desirable to nick.

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When I parked my van in Albertville by the Geant supermarket someone broke into my van door with a screwdriver and stole my 10 year old sweaty knackered ski boots. Not sure they were of much resale value, they did not bother taking my skis which were on the floor.

Opportunist thief, probably hoping that there was value or a wallet in the boot bag.

I think many people swap one ski with someone else and place their skis well apart if they are worried. As for people stealing ski poles, I do not think this is worth investigating. People drop them from the lifts regularly, along with one glove. Often the glove will have more value!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Cole - we love you really, but we run on positive Ski Karma Smile

And a few prayers that no one nicks our kit outside the lunch stop.

After all it is free

Is the link safe?

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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

As a relative newbie to skiing, i find this quite interesting. I’ve heard about ski thefts on the outside of the busy bars and restaurants at lunchtime but it seems the oddest thing to me. Just in terms of criminal activity it seems a somewhat bizarre business model (assuming it is for profit) and if it is for personal use it seems somewhat desperate (given the person presumably had enough money to make it to a ski holiday - unless they are local but even then I haven’t seen the type of neds in ski resorts that I often see in my beloved home city). Not discounting that there is clearly some ski theft I wonder if a a lot of ski ‘theft’ isn’t in fact someone just having taken the wrong skis by mistake? I can imagine this happens all to frequently after some have had one too many in the Folies Douce, if the boot happens to fit the binding, which isn't outside the realms of possibility, i'm surprised this doesn't happen quite a lot given that there is no key unlock system as you have with cars to tell you you have the wrong vehicle!
In a way I suspect I am just being quite naive - I live in a city where bike theft is rife and that’s a fact of life but I still find ski theft an odd concept! I’d be curious to hear what people’s experience is of this. Particularly: are there places where this or more of a known problem than others? Is it organised or opportunistic? Is it only high end skis that are targeted? Have you had your skis stolen and if so where was it (not just the resort but was it up mountain outside a bar or in the more towny bit)? Given that I am using rentals at this point I am not really worried for myself - more just genuinely curious (it might also help the OP even people can’t access his link).

snow reports

It depends. Not all the people in resort are wealthy holidaymakers. While pinching one pair at a time is probably a slow way to make much money it is probably also pretty much an undetectable crime.

It's also plausible for a ski bum type to grab a pair they fancy, stash em a few days till the tourists rotate and then use them rest of season.

But I agree accidental taking of similar looking skis is most prevalent given most people renting struggle to remember what make of ski they are on.

@Mr Blue Sky, Yes there’s a lot of drunken fools who can’t find their skis or CBA to find them. It’s not just the Folie! a simple lock will stop them. As Dave says seasonaires may help themselves. Curiously in the last couple of years touring skis have been disappearing from Mountain Restos, given you need specific boots for the tech bindings it must be done with malice aforethought.

Lost rental skis are a significant source of income to shops. They buy them at a massive discount, charge you full retail price for them if you don’t take them back, even if you take another shops skis back (ie you waited until all other skis had been collected and took the last pair in the mistaken identity cases). At the end of the season presumably all those are repatriated to the correct shop.

The real professionals break into hotel ski rooms at night and fill a van and export them to emerging ski countries.

You know it makes sense.

I recall one time leading a group in Flaine that someone had their skis taken by mistake even though they'd swapped skis with someone else, so they were left with a mismatching pair, different ski type, length, boot sizes and all. Astonishingly enough, someone had actually skied them down the mountain before noticing, then abandoned them at the bottom, presumably to return and recover their own skis later.

Thankfully all returned so just a bit of inconvenience, but it goes to show that there's little you can do against stupidity of that level.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Had my touring skis stolen from Stanton last year. Had my ski lock cut Eh oh!

. Rather annoying.

A snowHead

I use my cable lock, wiggle it through the bindings and wrap it round some fence or something. Theft prevention equipment already exists. I’m always amazed how many people spend hundreds of pounds on skis/board but are too tight to buy a £10 or £15 lock.

A snowHead

So the OP has either been scared off or it was never a genuine survey.

Commentator's curse coming up - no one I've ever skied with has ever had skis stolen. We used to mix pairs up when stopping for a drink or lunch but don't bother now. One of our lads did pick up the wrong skis once and couldn't understand why his boots didn't fit the bindings until I pointed out that they weren't his skis. They did have a similar top sheet colour but were a different make.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Perhaps lucky, but in 30+ years have never known anyone have skis stolen. Always mix pairs on the hill, but it is as much to stop someone accidentally picking up the wrong pair as theft. If stopping at restaurants at the top of gondolas, or at resort level, we try to keep them in sight, as these seem slightly more risky places. We never leave them outside a bar in town.

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I have had skis stolen, which makes me more paranoid than I would otherwise be. There is also the fact that Insurance Companies don't like unsecured skis left unattended.

IME. There are usually 3 ways skis disappear:

1. A genuine mistake where someone takes them in error, thinking they have their own. This nearly happened to my Daughter in The States. She had some pretty old K2 Burnin' Luv. We were at the bottom of the mountain taking off ski boots, when an older lady, with exactly the same model in the same size (who was doing the same) - lifted them to take to her car. My Daughter noticed and the Lady was most apologetic. In this case, the binding length would not have been a giveaway until the next day.

2. An Opportunist, who just takes a chance and nicks them

3. A gang who does this on a daily basis, who is properly prepared and has it down to a fine art. Nothing will stop them. If they are watching out for expensive skis, they will spot where you put them, even if mixed and matched with someone else.

IMV. A ski lock that can't be easily cut with a Leatherman; Skis Mixed and Matched with someone else; Some stickers put on to help prevent mistakes and if possible place skis somewhere you can see them, is the way to go (to prevent the top 2 scenarios)....and makes it much more likely that an Insurance Co will pay up.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Reportedly, in some resorts theft of hire skis can be an organised thing - skis go missing, punter claims insurance/pays the cost at shop, thieves return a week later for a reward.

People picking up the wrong pair seems to be the most common issue.

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It does look like the original OP student researcher has lost interest (or is maybe spending the weekend in the student bar and giving the old studies a bit of time out Cool

) Maybe I just haven't been paying attention but in my (albeit fairly limited) 7 weeks of skiing around the French and Italian alps i don't think I've ever seen anyone use locks, clearly there must be though not by anyone i've been skiing with. Also, interesting to hear that even renting skis I risk being charged full cost for the loss or theft of skis i'd be a bit gutted if that happened and if you need an approved lock to reclaim easily on insurance that is food for thought although i think i'll just carry on taking my chances on the basis that the risk of theft seems fairly remote. I have come across those little velcro things made to be wrapped around your skis which at least minimises the risk of someone mistaking them for their own so i might just settle for those.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I had my skis stolen/taken by mistake last year.
First days skiing, I stopped for a drink before downloading. When I came out mine had gone but there was a pair of the same brand but lower quality nearby, also with hire stickers on them. I took that pair in the hope I might see the other party at the bottom, but didn’t.
I think they were probably picked up in error rather than stolen. I went to the hire shop I had used, and got a new pair ( I had taken out insurance with them ) the shop said that it happened regularly and expected them to turn up in a few days. On returning the hire shop at the end of the week, I asked if they had turned up, which they hadn’t as yet, so I’ve no idea what did happen.
I now use a Velcro strap to tie my skis together to avoid being picked up in error, I can’t mix as I’ve been skiing solo the last two seasons.

After all it is free

@Mr Blue Sky, I don't think there is such a thing as an "approved lock"....but any ski lock shows that you have taken reasonable care and not left them unsecured. It also stops people taking them in error.

There is something called a "Ski Key", which only works with Ski Ski systems racks. It is probably the most secure as it can't be cut off - but the resort needs to have the appropriate racks everywhere, otherwise it doesn't work.

Thanks @Old Fartbag , I 've since my previous post been doing a bit more research and seeing how small and discreet the locks are and relatively inexpensive, i'm thinking actually I may as well get one even as a renter! I wonder what the original OP had in mind given, as you and others have pointed out, there is an existing solution out there (unless maybe he was thinking of solutions involving GPS tracking).

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There was an Austrian report -- way back in 2005 -- suggesting 9,000 pairs of skis and boards were stolen every winter season, in Austria, from 35 million total skier (daily) visits.

It suggests a roughly 0.03% chance of getting your skis stolen.

Very rare.

Pulling up at a posh mountain resto, and spending 10mins locking down your skis with a paranoid bicycle lock, just looks tragic.

Buy good insurance.

If skis vanish, claim it back.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Insurance companies can make it difficult to claim back - and getting the requisite police report will waste time you could spend skiing. It makes no financial sense to ensure against risks you can afford to take.

Just take the risk which is, indeed, small. Splitting pairs with friends reduces the chance that some idiot will pick up the wrong skis. Though if they do, of course, that'll be two of you stuffed.

snow reports

You know it makes sense.

Air tag on ours & we lock them up together.
Obviously other precautions with ski’s can to be swap a ski with a buddy & lock up mismatched pairs.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Ski telemark. No one will nick your skis because they look broken and Telemark skiers aren’t thieves……and also because they’re just aren’t many of them Laughing

A snowHead

I had a pair vanish from outside the rental shop in Les Arcs before I got to use them.
I left them outside in the rack while I carried the rest of the family's skis back to the apparment in the same building. When I went back to pick up the skis they were gone, the shop said that it was probably those nasty people from Paris who would have picked them up as they drove home.
This was the week Terry Waite was kidnapped, so I was lucky.

A snowHead

Most of us lock our bikes.
So why do so few lock their skis?
Always thought it odd.
We always lock our skis. Safeman is good, and tougher than most.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Some years ago eeyore's distinctive but old skis were taken from our apartment block ski room. We decided they'd been taken by mistake as people were packing up to go home. We bought 5 big eye bolts and paid the hausmeister to screw them into the wall and we've locked our skis to them ever since (we always lock them outside). Fast forward about 5 years and there they were in the ski room. I Google translated into german and czech something along the lines of 'these are my skis which were accidentally taken a few years ago, please leave them when you go' and taped it to the skis...and they did!

There is a pair of ski boots there that haven't moved in the 12 years I've had the apartment

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

My wife got a pair of skis nicked a few years ago. The chalet was up the hill from the transfer bus drop off point. The chalet staff said they'd carry all our luggage upto the chalet. My wife's brand new skis never made it. The company's resort manager was very uninterested in us asking him to investigated and went off sick with a "pain in the rectum" next day and was not seen for the rest of the week. He never returned to the company, but we never got the skis back.

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I don't think I ever saw a locked up pair of skis in Les Saisies. Ours were left on the balcony of our ground floor apartment, unlocked, every night. My OH did start threading a chain through them, and padlocking them, but it was such a hassle to unthread it we stopped bothering after a while.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Ski theft is almost unheard of in our part of CH, and that’s perhaps surprising given that so many people ski on (expensive) Stöcklis. I could never be bothered carrying a chain or a cable around - assume those who do have to carry a backpack to accommodate it.

After all it is free

@telford_mike, my lock lives in my bumbag

If I ever feel like it's a dogy place I will sperate my skis and leave them in completely different locations. That's probably 1 in 20 stops at the very most.

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