Lessons learned from having your gear stolen

One of my climbing partners and i got had close to $5000.00 worth of gear stolen while we were on a climbing trip to Red Rocks, NV. Here is what I learned.

1) Have good insurance. I have been climbing for 17 years and this is my first experience with gear thieves (beyond a dude in college stealing our climbing shoes and my chalk bag). Just as important as insurance is having documentation of your gear. Save all receipts, hang tags, etc. and keep photos of your stuff as well. I say have "good" insurance because it does make a difference. My buddy got totally hassled and screwed by a smaller lesser known company. I've had State Farm since I was 16 and these guys were great to deal with.

2) Don't advertise that your a climber. Window stickers, sewn patches on duffel bags, etc. invite that "second look" from people walking by your car.

3) Bring your rack into your hotel room asap. This one collective item can hurt the most if you loose it. (Most insurance companies pro-rate items by age if stolen. My favorite cam is an old yellow alien that would probably only get like $8 bucks in a reimbursement settlement)

4)File a police report. Itemize everything you will want to claim as a loss to your insurance company, they will request a copy from the local PD in working your claim.

5) Travel light. The more crap you haul around the less likely that you are going to take extra precautions to keep it safe.

6) It's just gear.

Where was it stolen from? Your car at a hotel, or in the park?

In the parking lot of the Gold Spike in downtown Vegas. It's a dump but had stayed there before with no problem. I had my rack in the hotel room with me but lost a bunch of other stuff. It's amazing how all those odds and ends add up when you have to figure out their value.

Along with #2 above:

Cover up any gear left in the back of your car/truck. Put it in the trunk if you have one, use the pull out cover for your SUV or throw a T-shirt or something over it so no one can see the stuff...

I had my gear stolen once and my friend had his gear stolen on the loop road in Red Rocks. The loop Road as we found out from the park rangers is notorious for break ins. My case I had homeowners insurance that covered my gear. I had over 10k stolen out of the back seat of my truck in front of my house. I offered my insurance carrier to piece meal my gear, they said they would not. They said to submit three different places that I could replace my gear from. I submitted Marmot Mountain works in San Fran. Since my purchase was quite hefty I struck a deal to get 15% more gear instead of a 15% discount. I replaced my entire big wall rack and in the end ran out of things to buy. My total came to well over 15K. Moral of story, make sure your homeowners insurance will cover theft and how will they handle such situations.

Many, many years ago while on a climbing trip from CO to CA, two of my buddies and I had around $9K stolen from our car while watching fireworks on the 4th of July in San Francisco. We had everything in the back of a Rodeo under blankets, but the SOBs still broke a window to discover what was inside. Fortunately we were young and in our 'storm years' and had made a meticulous equipment list before heading out. This gear list and the fact that we were rather prolific with the camera really aided us in getting our gear back. Echoing what has already been said, it was State Farm and it fell under our parent's homeowners insurance. There was a slight depreciation so we didn't get dollar for dollar lost, but fortunately we were in college and working at a gear shop at the time and were able to buy back everything pro-deal.

Lesson learned: always have an up-to-date gear list and take one of those infamous "gear all spread out at camp" pics on every trip.

And yes, while it was only gear, I still wish those guys cratered on my stolen pro!

A little off topic here, but since thefts in Red Rock, and Vegas mentioned...

Some facts about The Silver State.

The sad part is that I actually feel safer in Vegas (for now anyway), than some areas of L.A. I grew up in. I've had some things stolen from me while living in Vegas; Two new mountain bikes worth $1,200 stolen in 5 minutes in my open garage, while I was bringing my lawnmower to my backyard, and some smaller ticket items, but no where near the thefts, and violence in certain neighborhoods in L.A. I've had my car stolen, and even worthless rusty, broken rakes/garden tools stolen from my backyard, and tires, and rims stolen off my car in minutes in broad daylight in L.A.

I wouldn't leave anything of value in my car, covered or uncovered in this city, or any other, but to find a safe place to store your goods is a difficult thing to come by if you are on a road trip.Call me paranoid, but I'll even go as far as to re-park my car by the window where I'll be seated in a roadside restaurant.

If anyone decides to go climbing on a trip to Hawaii would be well advised to NEVER leave anything of any value in your vehicle, especially climbing gear. The thieves out here prey on tourists and the fact we like to leave unneeded stuff in the car. My car was broken into a couple weeks ago and I was only out of the car for maybe 5 min. Lost some dive gear, backpack, etc. etc. Just make sure to take everything with you. As they will look in the trunk also after they break your window :-)