what is the right thing to do?

Jaren Watson wrote:

Corporate shill!

Haha! Kinda.?

Anonymous wrote: You stopped climbing with him. That's enough, don't do more. If you do you'll probably make things worse than they already are.

If anything let someone more capable of handling such a situation deal with it. Although it's a bit of "passing the buck", I really don't think you're the person to confront him and have things turn out the way you think they should. It will just end in more drama and you'll be the one left holding the bag of shit and asking wtf just happened.

Perhaps talk to the police instead of confronting him directly? See what they say. This will free yourself from the guilt and will also remove you from things possibly esculating from theft in to something way worse. 

Lol, the police have better things to do.

Tradiban wrote:

Lol, the police have better things to do.

#climbingwhileblack

Well, the Karma already found you. If you didn't protest his first attempt at this shit, and then he ended up stealing your shit, then you deserved it. Sorry dude, you fucked up by not standing up for the other people that he was stealing from.

I would have broke all of his climbing/stealing fingers if i caught him stealing my gear. Shit is WAY too expense for some dick bag to walk off with it like it's his. 

Allen Koehler wrote: I'm in a delimma and curious to know what the community thinks. I have had a climbing partner who in the past I have watched him hide gear under his shirt he/she found at the crag to get it back to the car. Hides it so owner dosen't see it. I myself am a true beliver in karma and given the sport we do and its dangers, I myself would NEVER do this. It is wrong in every way. The right thing to do is post a note on climbers board and at least attempt to return said gear too owner. Now i have been going through all my cams and have noticed many many are MIA or swapped out for one that is not safe for climbing on. He/she is the only climber I have climbed with since I relocated to the Northwest. I ultimately feel betrayed as I have given said person gear  I no longer needed. Its a given I will NEVER climb with he/she again, but should I expose this person so others are not done the same way.

Thanks All

Not enough info. Are you saying he bootied gear from a route? I don't post about something I bootied from a route. Rarely happens. But imo if you leave it on route, you lost it. Some people have more time, and may be nicer... but I don't go to those lengths. Primarily because there was no way to talk about it long ago and I never adopted the habit of posting that on line... or wanting to go to the trouble of mailing it, etc.. whatever. If I found a rack or some quantity of gear at the base of a route that someone obviously forgot, yeah... I would do something to try to get it back to them. Has never happened to me though. If it is at some packed crag like the gunks and I saw the group on the route, sure... If I got it out, or sent the route, I'd give it back to them. I mean, c'mon. 

If I leave a piece on a route, I consider it gone and never expect to see it again... and hold no ill will towards whoever gets it. My fault for the bad placement, or having to bail. I own the cost.