The discovery of unattended gear in the backcountry can sometimes be cause for concern especially if that gear is found in dangerous terrain as this may indicate that something went wrong that prevented its owner from returning as planned.

This makes it no surprise that law enforcement found it a bit suspicious when an unattended pair of skis were found near the top of Baldy Mountain in Summit County – in close proximity to a cornice and seemingly ‘ready for launch.’

According to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the initial report about the unattended skis was made by a backcountry skier, who noted the skiers were positioned in the snow as if someone was about to step into them. That said, no one was around, and while there were foot tracks leading away from the skis, return tracks did not appear to be present. It also appeared that the skis had been there for about two days given how windblown snow had them partially covered.

This report prompted immediate concerns that someone may have been preparing to head down the slope, briefly walking away to fall off of the cornice getting seriously injured or worse.

According to a report about the situation, a sticker on the skis prompted deputies to call ski shops in the area in search of information about who brought them to the top of the peak. After calling multiple local shops, no information that was useful to the case was uncovered.

Without knowledge of who put the skis there or where that person could be, a search and rescue team was requested.

As the search and rescue team prepared to look for someone who may have taken a fall in the dangerous terrain, a final call was made to a ski shop that operated out of Denver. While the person who answered noted that the ski shop didn’t sell or rent the type of skis that were found, a sheer coincidence provided the answers that law enforcement was looking for.

According to the person at the ski shop, they had met with a man while selling a sleeping bag on Facebook Marketplace earlier that week. During that meeting, the buyer – described as a relatively inexperienced backcountry skier – happened to mention that he had made a recent trip up Baldy Mountain, during which he removed his skis to look at something and was unable to find his skis after that. The man said he searched for a long time, but as it grew dark, he was forced to ditch the skis and walk down the mountain to his vehicle.

Upon hearing this account from the person at the ski shop, the search effort was called off immediately, saving time and resources.

While the first thought someone might have after losing gear in the backcountry probably isn’t to report that loss to local law enforcement, doing so can be helpful for preventing situations like this where gear that’s found may raise false suspicions that someone is in need of help, something that can ultimately waste rescue resources that could be better used elsewhere.