Up to $44,000 in snowmobiles and equipment was stolen from the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club last weekend.
“It’s a community asset and a community organization providing a service to our community that, especially during a pandemic, is very important,” said Jan Polivka, operations manager for the club.
“So, it’s very heartbreaking and very disappointing.”
Two special snowmobiles were stolen, as well as about $3,000 in chainsaws, grinders and other equipment.
The break-in happened in the early morning hours of Dec. 4. The thieves broke the garage doors, cut the locks and drove away on the snowmobiles, Polivka said. The equipment was noticed missing at 7:30 p.m. the following evening.
The snowmobiles have special features used for setting the ski trails.
“Those are usually used in the early season, but right now because we have so much snow we can get away without them for awhile,” Polivka said.
“They were used by ski patrol, so if there’s an emergency on the trails, ski patrol uses those snowmobiles — we have to sort out a few issues like that.”
The ski club filed a report with RCMP, and Polivka hopes that insurance will cover the snowmobiles’ replacement if they can’t be recovered.
He said this has been the largest act of theft he’s seen in 11 years working at the ski club.
“Something like this hasn’t happened in my time, nothing this big,” Polivka said.
Contact Gabrielle Plonka at gabrielle.plonka@yukon-news.com