Sea-to-Sky Gondola cable break was no accident, safety report confirms

It was no accident when the cable of the Sea-to-Sky Gondola near Squamish, B.C., snappedin the middle of the night for the second year in a row last month, a new report has confirmed.

Dozens of cars along the gondola went crashing into the mountainside after the cable brokearound 4 a.m. PT on Sept. 14. RCMP and gondola staff immediately said the linehad been deliberately cut, just as it was the year before.

Technical Safety B.C. confirmed Friday that a vandal, or vandals,sliced partway through the cable last month. The rest of the cable snapped under the pressure.

"It is important the public understands that there are no systemic safety concerns with these kinds of systems," read a statement from the agency on Friday. "What happened at the Sea-to-Sky Gondola is exceptionally rare."

Rare everywhere, perhaps, but at the Sea-to-Sky gondola in the past two years.

The line was deliberately cut the first time onAug. 10, 2019.Almost 30 gondola cars were ruinedthat year,causing between $5 million and $10 million in damage.

Staff expected a similar level of damage this year.

WATCH | Reaction after the cable on B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky Gondola was cut for a second time:

Vandals cut cable on B.C.s Sea-to-Sky gondola for 2nd time

4 years ago

Duration 2:01

The cable on British Columbia's Sea-to-Sky gondola was deliberately cut in the middle of the night for the second year in a row, resulting in another round of multi-million dollar repairs.

Depending on where theline was cut, the metalcabins could have fallen up to 300 metres before slamming into the mountainside.

Thelineis pulled tight enough to support the weight of the two kilometre-long gondola. Officials have said the force of the snapping cablecould "easily" kill a personif it hit somebody.

RCMPhavenot confirmed whetherthe vandalism incidentsare linked or whether thesame person or people might beresponsible for both crimes.

No arrests have been made.A $250,000 reward hasbeen offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal, or vandals.

The gondola, located off Highway 99 near the Stawamus Chief mountain, is a major tourist attraction. It usually carries400,000 visitors annually up thesteep mountainside above Howe Sound.

The company repaired the attraction with a freshline and new cars after the 2019 crime. It partiallyreopened in Februaryandfully reopenedin May, only to close again after the second incident in September.

General manager Kirby Brown said the company beefed up security after last year, but couldn't increase security to the point of "militarization" with barbed wire fencing, for example, because the area is shared with B.C. Parks and is popular with hikers and climbers.

WATCH | Sea-to-Skymanager saysgondola will be rebuilt:

Sea-to-Sky Gondola vows to rebuild after cables cut for the second time

4 years ago

Duration 1:11

The company's general manager says this vandalism mirrors the 2019 incident in a "very eerie fashion."