Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Truck Broken Into / Gear Stolen

I just got down from guiding our first of many Whitney trips scheduled for this spring. I thought I'd be posting pictures and conditions updates (I still will in a bit) but instead wanted to share the news...

Our group got back to the car lunchtime on Sunday. My truck and one of my guide's trucks was broken into. One duffel bag full of climbing gear worth an estimated $3500 was stolen... full sets of Camelots, Link Cams, Aliens, carabiners, rope, etc.

I'm hoping this is an isolated incident. I've been coming to the Sierra my whole life and been guiding here since 1995 and have never had an incident.

Just wanted to give you all a heads up about leaving things in your vehicles...

...and if you see anybody trying to offload a bunch of climbing gear let me know.

Jeez Kurt, sorry to hear about this. That really sucks.
Was the gear marked with “SMI” or any other ID?
I know it’s a long shot, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled
Cheers,
Rick G

Hey Kurt ,

thanks for the information . I am sorry to hear of this incident . If I hear of anyone off loading gear in the Joshua Tree area I will let you know .
I am still stuck at home pretty much 24/7 doing the Caregiver thing . It will be a year this May since I was at the Portal .
You should probably file a police report .

Simon

Wow...so disappointing! I've never heard of this happening at the Portal - I thought bears were the only car thieves in residence.

So sorry it happened to you, Kurt. Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully whoever did this will be brought to justice and you'll find some of your gear.

If you file a police report, the officer that gets the report will stay on it until the gear shows up. They scan the internet, newspapers and magazines to see if anyone is selling stuff. This could take years, and though the officer doesn't check daily, he will check occasionally for as long as he feels it is appropriate. And again, the police keep checking because they know the offenders will often wait months to sell it. If you do file a report, post a reference number and the officers name and contact on this site.......and as a note, let him know he "may" get some calls.
I myself will check out Craigslist to see if anyone puts climbing gear up. If several people on the WPSMB check Craigslist, local papers, etc. in their cities or counties occasionally for the next year or so, you may be surprised.

Kurt, sorry to hear about that. That stinks! Another place to check is the For Sale/Wanted forum on mountainproject.com. Best of luck.

Kurt, that just sux man! Sorry to hear about it. Were you parked at the Portal or along the road?

Although it's a long shot, there have been success stories. Check out this gear recovering story. Probation officers found a bunch of big wall gear on one of his probies. Gear was recovered and returned to its owner
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1140172/RECOVERED-STOLEN-CLIMBING-GEAR

I'd bet that your gear is still pretty local to Lone Pine. I imagine that the less ethical members of the LP community are very much aware that people leave their cars up on the portal road and that there is little chance of them being disturbed or caught.

I recall that during the summer of 2009, (I think?) vehicles were being vandalized at a couple of trailheads. I also think that person was caught. In this incident since Kurt's and his guides vehicle were both broken into it almost seems as if someone was targeting your gear rather than just being random vehicle break-ins.

I'll help get the word out and watch the gear for sale forums. If lots people know about this it will be a little harder for the low-life who has your gear to use it or sell it.

For what it's worth, I hiked up to the Portal from the road closure on Saturday afternoon and noticed your truck (nice old Toyota!) but didn't see anything that looked out of place. It was fairly busy up there though.

Not to sound like a vigilante, but the rope and carabiners have other uses other than climbing for those who steal...

Seems to me someone was canvassing the area waiting for you and your group to leave and to strike when the coast was clear.

It is probably best not to mention any type of markings on your gear. When the authorities find your gear, they are sure to contact you to describe and claim and then charges are filed. California Penal Code 487.

Too many "bad" eyes read this board, too. I hope they get caught.

Sorry about the bad news, Kurt. Hope everyone had a great day otherwise!

Sorry about what happened. This is a great website for searching craigslist and ebay. Found my daughters stolen softball equiptment on in riverside craigslist I live in OC. Hope it helps.

http://www.searchtempest.com/

Hi It is always sad news when these things happen, We see a trend during the first part of the season , I have some thoughts and keep law enforcement in the loop .

It could be some "local" but so many people pass by I would lean for out of the area or someone crashing in the area for a short time and moving on , doing the same things! Sorry Kurt

I'm sorry to hear this, Kurt. What a horrible way to end a nice weekend trip in the Sierras.

For what it's worth, our team of 6 got down to the cars around 11ish on Sunday morning to find a busy parking lot. There were a lot of people walking the road that morning. We didn't notice anything unusual, but then again we were only focused on getting back home to our loved ones.

I feel naive and over-trusting myself, for leaving my open duffel and winter tent gear in plain view in my hatchback for the 3 days of our trip. It's such a troubling thought to have to worry about thieves helping themselves to your property when you're in the throws of a climbing trip, trying to survive out there in the elements . I hope you find resolution, bro.

Regards
--Ben

Very disappointing to hear this. I hope they catch these thieves and you get your stuff back.

I think from now on I'll leave a big rattlesnake in an attractive duffel in the back of the car with the word "valuables" written on it. It would be great to see these low lifes get what they deserve.

maybe it was that wacko that got caught breaking into cars a few years ago.
With our justice system the way it is he could be back ripping people off like he was before
If I remember the wacko had a sister that posted on this site

LOL Rick I like your style!

Yeah, great image. Thumbs up to Rick!

They probably don't know what valuables are... dimwitted lowlifes.

I feel some of the pain, having had two cameras worth over 2K not returned to me from trailheads in So Cal.