Sea to Sky Gondola vandalism caught on video
Posted September 14, 2022 8:10 am.
Last Updated September 15, 2022 6:14 am.
New video released by the RCMP shows the moments cable cars plunged to the ground after vandals hit the Sea to Sky Gondola in 2020.
In the surveillance footage shared Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022 — two years after the attraction was targeted for a second time — a security guard is seen walking through the area shortly before the cable was severed.
Investigators say the person, who was on patrol, was “within seconds of being struck by the cables carrying the gondola cabins.”
“The BC RCMP Major Crime Special Projects Unit has taken conduct of this investigation and is pursuing a charge of mischief, endangering the life, for consideration by the BC Prosecution Service,” explained Sgt. Chris Manseau.
This is a thermal picture of the Sea-to-Sky gondola suspect. The gondola owners are raising the reward to $500,000 pic.twitter.com/x8AqJY3DPk
— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) September 14, 2022
“Our investigators believe that the suspect is extremely fit, knows the area well, and had specific knowledge about what tools to use in order to cut the cables in such a way that it would cause catastrophic damage to the gondola, while protecting the suspect themselves from harm.”
Meanwhile, the RCMP notes the Sea to Sky Gondola Company is doubling its reward to $500,000 for information that leads to whoever is responsible.
“It has been a rough few years for Squamish. Our community has been faced with something never before seen within our industry. It’s an incredibly resilient town. But we have renewed confidence in the RCMP investigation with the addition of the Major Crimes team to the case and certainly the work that we’ve seen has been impressive,” explained Kirby Brown, general manager, Sea to Sky Gondola.
Gondola cable cut twice
Investigators have determined that both instances of vandalism were deliberate.
The first time it happened was in August 2019, sending most of the 30 gondola cabins crashing down.
The damage — in the millions of dollars — was excessive, forcing the lift to close and putting summer staff out of work. The company was forced to bring in dozens of new cabins and a new main haul rope from Europe.
The gondola reopened to the general public in the spring of 2020.
However, later that year, the cable was cut yet again. On Sept. 14, 2020, the attraction’s general manager said “exactly the same thing” happened that morning that did just about a year prior.
“Something you’d never think would happen, once in a lifetime, has happened twice,” General Manager Kirby Brown told Mountain FM. “An individual climbed a tower and, despite our security system and all of the measures, rapidly cut through the cable and brought the gondola to the ground.”
The second act of vandalism happened despite operators brining in additional security.
FILE – The cables on the Sea to Sky Gondola were cut in September 2020, marking the second time vandals struck the attraction. (Courtesy Twitter/Squamish RCMP)
Once again, it was determined the act was deliberate.
The Sea to Sky Gondola, which which offers a 10 minute ride with views of Howe Sound, carries up to 240 passengers per trip on a regular day. It reopened in 2021.
