Cable of Sea to Sky Gondola near Squamish, B.C., cut again, causing major damage

SQUAMISH, B.C. — A cable on a popular tourist gondola near Squamish, B.C., has been cut for the second time in just over a year.  

“Something you’d never think would happen once in a lifetime has happened twice,” Kirby Brown, the general manager of the Sea to Sky Gondola, told Squamish radio station Mountain FM.

He said someone climbed a tower and cut through the cable, despite security measures that were in place.

Squamish RCMP said in a statement that the damage occurred at about 4 a.m. Monday.

No one was hurt.

The West Vancouver Police Department and a police dog unit were also called in to help the investigation on Monday, the statement said.

Sgt. Sascha Banks said police were asking people to stay out of the area, including its climbing and hiking routes, because of the “extensive” police presence.

“The Sea to Sky Gondola is an integral part of this community and we are very lucky no one was injured,” she said. “Someone in our area has seen something or has heard something and we are asking them to call us immediately with any information.”

Vandals were blamed for cutting the nearly six-centimetre-thick cable in August 2019 while the ride was closed, sending about 30 gondolas smashing to the ground.

Total damage in that incident was estimated at up to $10 million and no arrests were made.

The business reopened earlier this year after a new cable was sent from Europe and all of the gondolas were replaced.

At the time, Brown said a new state-of-the-art security system had also been installed.

Brown couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday, but he told Mountain FM that the company will rebuild again.

The gondola officially opened in 2014. During the summer season, it can carry as many as 3,000 people on the roughly 10-minute ride to an elevation of 885 metres above Howe Sound.

— With files from Mountain FM.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2020.

The Canadian Press