Theft at the North Walls

[ClimberYogi]

Just an FYI to everyone parking near the North Wall boulders near the Mamquam Forest Service Road:

A car was broken into near the Farm on Saturday September 15th. Police say that theft has been very frequent along that road, the Chief parking lots and Shannon Falls this summer.

We noticed a man wearing a motorcycle helmet walking through the boulders that afternoon, thought it was weird, but kept on with our climbing day... Police say he was probably a spotter for the thieves.

Keep your eyes open for suspicious people in the boulders and don't leave valuables in your cars. It sucks that this is happening here in Squamish, but maybe it will stop if the thieves don't find a jackpot every time they bust a window.

[MarkR]

Yeah, saw broken glass when I came down from Angel's Crest on the 6th. So lame. If you ever see someone pulling this sh*t beat them with a #4.

Good point about leaving Jackpots though, I always do without really thinking about it.

[Brendan]

beat them with a #4.

I always think about catching a thief and smashing them with my biggest Camalot. Unfortunately we only come across broken glass and no thieves.

[cfire]

Monday the 17th we were about to leave the apron parking lot when 2 very shady looking people in a car pulled in and were just sitting there watching us. We slowly walked toward the f.s. road and they never took an eye off of us. Then they moved their car and parked right next to another. We walked back into the lot, stopped behind them, wrote down their license #, then slowly walked away thinking we spooked them. When we walked back down a few hours later, the car they parked next to was broken into and the gals purse stolen with passport and wallet in it - a quick smash and grab. We felt bad because I'm sure it was the 2 we saw and we waited them out for 10 minutes, but obviously not long enough. We gave them the plate #, but probably nothing the police can do.

Too bad this kind of thing is becoming all too common in Squamish.

[relic]

Can you give us a description of the car and shady peeps so we can keep an eye out if we see them creeping around our cars?

[cfire]

The car was an import hatchback in a weird blue/green color. One of the front fenders had the skin peeled off with black underneath. Blond female and tall dark haired male with scruffy half beard. License started with 184(BC plates). If you saw these 2 in the lot, you'd know they didn't fit.

I know we shouldn't leave stuff in our cars, but not many options if you are visiting from out of town. Should we leave our stuff in our tent? Doesn't seem like a safer way. Time to stop blaming the climbers for this stuff and blame the scumbags that are doing it. It's becoming a deterent to folks coming up there to camp. Maybe the locals aren't broken hearted over that, but those of us who love Squamish climbing are getting a little wary of leaving anything anywhere.

Peace,
Chris

[natsdad]

Hi Chris:

Thanks for posting this information about those scumbags.

I'm a Vancouver-local and I definitely feel for visitors who face this problem. I've had my vehicle broken into (not in Squamish, but I live in East Van...) and I know it sucks.

I "believe" that the store Climb On (in Squamish) offers a way to protect valuables for visiting climbers - or maybe it is one of the other local climbing gear stores. Can any locals confirm?

In any case, I don't think anyone is blaming climbers, just offering suggestions to prevent this from happening.

Take care,
Steve