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By this weekend, all three Park City area ski resorts will be open. It's the time of year ski bums always look forward to; unfortunately, so do thieves.
It's the side of the industry resorts don't like to talk about, but it does happen from time to time. The Park City police department knows it can't prevent every ski theft, but it can try to get every stolen ski returned with the help of a simple sticker.
Jim Kelly is 63, from Florida, and until today has never been skiing. After watching the movie "The Bucket List" he decided, "It's probably a good idea."
The first thing he noticed is that skiing isn't easy. The second was that skis aren't cheap. We showed him the Park City police department's idea to get skis registered in case they're stolen. It's an idea he likes.
"Absolutely! Down in Florida they do a lot of things like that in an effort to deter crime," he said.
The little stickers have serial numbers, and when you register your skis with the police department, they match those numbers to you.
Capt. Phil Kirk, with the Park City Police Department, said, "With those stickers that are on there, it's much easier to track down the rightful owner. Otherwise, it can be pretty difficult to find out whose skis they are."
We checked skis at the Park City Mountain Resort today. Only one pair was locked. The others were just standing there, none of them registered with the police department.
"People get in a hurry and do the easiest thing and just put them in the racks, and it's pretty easy takings, unfortunately," Kirk said.
Of course, the police department knows somebody can just rip the sticker off of the ski, but they're hoping the sticker alone acts as a deterrent.
"Most thieves will look for easy prey, easier prey than those that are registered with us," Kirk said.
That's why Phillip Grant says he just might get his snowboard registered. "I know some friends who've gotten their skis stolen. They had to go and buy new ones, so yeah, I think it's pretty good," he said.
The police department, for the first time, is also allowing for online registration. Click here to register your gear.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com