Just a reminder...lock your skis/board!

I just want to remind people to lock their skis/board whenever you leave them... 

Unfortunately, I payed the price recently.... I usually do lock my skis, but just left them in the racks outside the ski lodge at Edelweiss (a small hill North of Ottawa in Quebec) for about a minute to use the washroom(it's just a minute, they'll be ok, right?)  I get back... I don't see my skis where I left them, but I do see an identical pair..with the same poles a few feet from where I left mine. Not thinking, I grab the set and head home...2 weeks later, when it's time to go skiing again, I realize what has happened - the skis I have are identical Dynastar Contact 9s...except they are 172cm long instead of 158cm as I had purchased... the poles were a bit longer too, though they had been shortened so they were only 5cm longer than my poles... also identical Head aluminum poles.  Someone must have grabbed my skis...and I grabbed theirs.

I am pretty sure it was a simple mix up (how many people have identical skis and poles?), but am still very frustrated by it. I called all of the local ski hills to ask if there had been any reports, and most were very unhelpful - I gather skis get stolen all of the time, so they don't seem to care much when people report them. Edelweiss at least made a report, and I put up a few signs saying "HAVE DYNASTAR CONTACT 9 SKIS?" in big letters around the lodge (with permission), but I am doubting I will ever recover my skis again.

So....I'll be skiing with these 172cm skis for the rest of the season - the extra length doesn't bother me on the groomed runs, but I miss the extra agility in the bumps and trees. I'll likely try to sell them in the offseason, and buy something new that's a tad shorter...wish i could find another set of Contact 9s that were a bit shorter, but they seem to be hard to come by.

Moral for everyone: If you care about your equipment... ALWAYS Lock for skis/board! Even for only a few seconds! 

I payed $399+tax (canadian) locally for these skis...so I don't feel like buying new ones yet.  If I get new skis, I'll probably look at the summer sales.  Perhaps I won't be able to get contact 9s, but something similar would do.  I'll worry about that when it comes to that.

Who knows...perhaps I'll decide to keep the 172cm...they're very comfortable and the extra stability is nice on the steeps.  I just miss the agility of the shorter skis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett 

That is just an all around bad situation.  I hope you've had your bindings properly adjusted for your current set of skis.  I've had to deal with the results of situations like this too often.  A lock is a simple and fairly quick solution.

That's a good point...the longer skis are set at a DIN of 7...my shorter skis were at a DIN of 6... is that much of a difference?

I'm just starting to get over it...I was so mad at myself the past 2 days for leaving them unattended.  I'd say 80% of the skis I see on the racks aren't locked, so I always thought I was being over-cautious locking them...guess not. I was also intending to write my name on the skis....but, never got around to it!  If I'm really lucky, perhaps the other guy will realise what has happened and check with the Edelweiss resort..but I think that's a long shot...especially 2 weeks now since it happened.

Good idea... I think they should be pretty similar to mine though - from the stickers still on the skis, I can tell that these were purchased at the same summer sale(Ottawa's T&L warehouse sale) as I bought mine at...and from the wear, they appear equally old.  The bindings are identical, so there shouldn't be too much of a difference.  I think to be safe though, I will get them checked out though... not taking any more chances with skis.

An upside to this, is I get to try out longer skis... at 150lbs, 172cm skis do seem a bit long at slow speeds, but I haven't had any problems - they actually feel better on the groomers and steeps than the 158cm.  I may consider getting slightly longer skis next time.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to be looking at everyone's skis every time I hit the hills... I'm pretty sure someone else took mine, as I remember where I left them, and they weren't there when I came back..but this other pair was very close by - I just thought my memory was playing tricks with me at the time, or they'd been moved for some reason.  The questions are - what did the other guy do with my skis and does he want his back?  If he doesn't ski regularly...or he's a crappy skier, he may not have even noticed yet.  Even if he doesn't have my skis, he has no proof that the ones I took were his, so I won't be giving them back to anyone unless it's in exchange for my skis...or some money.

I thought about going the insurance route too..but my deductible is more than the original price of the skis.

Writing your name on your skis is a good idea to avoid mix-ups... I was meaning to do that, but never got around to it (kicks self again).. but ski thefts are still very common, and I don't think a thief would care about that if they liked your skis - Sharpie can be removed or painted over.  I would still lock 'em if you care about them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYCHawkeye74 

"The questions are - what did the other guy do with my skis and does he want his back?  If he doesn't ski regularly...or he's a crappy skier, he may not have even noticed yet."

 

Unless his boots are the exact same size, he probably would have noticed if he has used them since.  Also, if, by chance, his boots did fit your binding settings, he likely would have noticed the difference in length right away.  

 

I had this happen to a friend on a trip, except the skis were the same length, too, just a different binding setting.  We notified the resort staff and gave them a cell phone number to call.  Then off to see a ski tech... 

Unfortunately, I think our boot settings must be the same length - as my boots fit right into his bindings (so I assume his boots would fit right into mine).  I didn't actually notice until I started my first run of the day and they felt a bit different - kind of like going from a sporty compact car(the shorter skis) to luxury sedan(longer ones). 

At least the signs I put around the Edelweiss lodge are being noticed - I already received a call from someone who had the same thing happen to them - unfortunately, it wasn't a match, and the women didn't know anything about skis.  I guess this happens pretty frequently...

One funny thing about this experience - I found out my old poles were too short... this guy's poles are actually the right length for me, feels better....and I might want slightly longer skis next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2-turn 

Now, your scenario is probably correct and you should check with the shop in case they recognize the skis, but what if your 158's really happened to be stolen, and co-incidently, someone left their 172's in about the same spot.

You are correct - that is always a possibility...but the poles were identical too (what's the chance?)...the binding settings were almost identical (damn!) and even I didn't notice the difference until I went skiing again.  The two sets of skis were left in about same spot, but on different parallel ski racks.  If someone comes to me claiming I have their skis, it will be difficult for them to prove that they belong to them without having my skis in return.  I put up noticed around though...so we'll see what happens...I received one call that was a false alarm, and a few 'how much?' inquiries.

Unfortunately, the shop was less than helpful when I called - I basically found that they probably could track down the record of the binding installation, but the manager said they had too many records to go through, the data was disorganized and they wouldn't be able to sort it out until the summer.  The shop is T&L in Ottawa, which isn't a big box store, but is easily the largest ski/snowboard chain in the area, so they move a lot of gear.  I don't think I've ever seen anyone else with Dynastar Contact 9s on the slopes here, so they can't be that common (as compared to some other models).

Laurentianskier, I really don't appreciate your accusatory attitude...you say that you will give me the benefit of the doubt, then go on a whole paragraph to practically accuse me of  being a thief.

Ask yourself this: If I really wasn't telling the truth, WHY THE HELL WOULD I POST CLASSIFIED ADS EVERYWHERE, PUT UP SIGNS, and POST ABOUT ON THIS BOARD???? 

Again, this is what happened: There are several rows of ski racks at Edelweiss.  I left mine one row...went inside to use hte washroom...came back...looked where I thought I had left my skis, but they weren't there.  So, I looked around a bit - and saw what I thought were my skis and poles, on the row beside where I thought I had left them...thought I just forgot where I left them... 172cm to 158cm is a big difference in skis,  but in reality...this is less than half a foot.  The poles were only 5cm longer.  I was in a hurry to leave hill, so I just grabbed them and went back to my car to drive home.  Had I noticed the difference, I would have immediately reported it (not waited 2 weeks) and then likely run to the lift lineup to see if the guy was there.

I say it would be difficult for the other person to prove that these are their skis because (like mine) there are no distinctive marks on the skis (or poles) to identify them.  The only proof I can think of might be the sales receipt from the T&L Warehouse sale....if the other guy has it.  But, if someone comes up to me claiming that these are their skis (considering all of the ads I've been posting), yet they have no proof and don't have my skis - why should I believe them?  Why should the police believe them?  They can go to the police if they want... in fact, I hope they do - at least if I find out they were stolen, I will know they are gone for good, and I should look for new skis.

As you've seen I have posted this in as many places as I can in attempt to get the other person's attention... I think that is the right thing to do - both to try and get my skis back, and to return this pair to its rightful owner.

PS Glad you saw one of my ads - shows I'm getting an audience.

Edited by Jay31 - Thu, 05 Feb 09 16:05:42 GMT

Alright people who like to call me a thief - I have skis that aren't mine, what do you suggest I do differently that I'm not already doing???  If someone can prove that these are their skis, I will gladly give them back.

And yes I'm being indignant - I don't like being called a thief...I find it very insulting.  If you want to get technical, the crime of theft requires intent, and I did not have any intent here.  I am doing everything I can think of to try and return these skis.

I feel I'm doing the right thing by trying to advertise this as many places as possible to get the attention of the owner of these skis.  If they have mine, I'll be doing cartwheels...if they don't..and they prove that these are their skis, I will give them back, and continue being sad over my lost skis.  I don't like skiing with other people's skis, and possessing these brings me no satisfaction at all.

I wish I had noticed that these skis were not mine at the time and not taken them, as I would have had a better chance to find the guy (only one chairlift was open), and could have reported it to the ski hill immediately...instead of 2 weeks later.

If these were your skis, wouldn't you prefer someone like me who's been advertising it everywhere, rather than someone who would just ski off with them or immediately sell them to make a buck? 

Given my situation, what am I doing wrong here?

Quote:

Originally Posted by skier_j 

thing is, just like many threads on here, you've already been given the best advice---you just didn't like it.

 

you going to try harder to rectify YOUR poor behavior in taking someone elses property ??

Ok...I really want to hear it from you - even if you think other people have already given me the best advice (and I've read this thread very carefully), you clearly think I'm an idiot - perhaps I was an idiot to get into this situation...I certainly feel like one... so pretend you're dealing with an idiot.  What would do you, if you were in my shoes that I am not doing?  Please explain it very carefully, realizing who you are dealing with.
 

The only thing above that I can see that I haven't done...someone suggested donating them to charity... I think it would be better to try to find the original owner, which is what I am doing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crgildart 

Quote:

 What would do you, if you were in my shoes that I am not doing?  Please explain it very carefully, realizing who you are dealing with.
 

 

I would turn over the skis that do not belong to me to either the resort where they were taken from or the police.  Continue to try to find the person that took yours, then tell them that you turned in a similar pair to the authorities.

The resort knows I have these skis, as do the police (I filed a police report for my skis, including these details - the police didn't ask for the other skis).  I am a bit worried about what will happen to them if I just return them to the resort - I really don't trust the staff.  Anyway, I'm not going to ski them anymore - I only skied them one day when I found myself at another resort and just discovering my mistake... call the police on me for that if you want.  I have the skis sitting my car in the remote hopes that I'll get a call from the owner.
 

I realise I made a big internet faux pas and was posting while being emotional... and I have been quite emotional over this...  I was devestated about losing my skis the first day I found out... and extremely angry at myself for not locking my skies, putting contact info on them...or noticing my mistake earlier.  I frantically called all of the local resorts, the retailer and later the police.  When I thought I had calmed down enough, I posted this here as a public service announcement - in the hopes that other people wouldn't make the same mistake I did.  There was also a remote chance that the person they belonged to posted here...and I was hoping I might get some sympathy for my situation (guess not). When people started questioning my honesty, I became emotional again.

Thinking about it a bit more, perhaps you have reason to question my story.... I did screw up big time.  Although really, what would I have to gain by being dishonest on a public internet forum?

I will say this much - I'm by no means am I the first person to do this.  Honest mistakes do happen, and I even received a call from someone else who did the same thing (but with different skis).  I'm going to stop posting on this thread now... mostly for my blood pressure.  If the owner turns up here, they can PM me.