The Sea to Sky Gondola is closed until further notice after its cable and cabins dropped overnight on Aug. 10.
The gondola’s general manager Kirby Brown told The Chief that between 4 and 5 a.m. Saturday morning, the overnight security workers heard a loud noise, then found the gondola was de-roped — the cable and several cabins were down on the ground, with several cabins at the top still suspended between the top four or five towers.
Brown said they expect the cabins are heavily damaged.
“We’re just in the early moments of investigating how that could possibly happen. Certainly, early indications are that there was no environmental or maintenance mechanism that could have caused it. It points toward a conclusion that somebody interfered with the lift. But first and foremost, of greatest importance, there appears to be nobody that was on the lift.”
He said there was no indication of an injury from Search and Rescue, and the RCMP have been notified of the incident.
“All our efforts are focused on understanding how this happened and mobilizing our team to make sure that we investigate properly with all the appropriate authorities,” Brown said.
Dopplemayr, a company that specializes in cables, ropes and lifts, is on the way to do repairs.
The Sea to Summit Trail and Shannon Falls Connector Trail are also closed for the foreseeable future.
There is currently no estimated timeframe for repairs or when the gondola will reopen.
More details will be shared when they become available.
- Keili Bartlett, The Squamish Chief
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