Vandalism ‘very much resembles’ last year’s incident: Gondola manager

The modus operandi for the second vandalism incident at the gondola was the same as last year.

“The incident, from what we have seen so far, very much resembles the last years incident in almost every aspect,” said Kirby Brown, the manager of the Sea to Sky Gondola.

The vandalism happened around 4 am today.

Brown said the gondola has a vastly enhanced security system compared to last year and also has 24-hour security at the top and the bottom of the gondola.

He said the individual who cut the cable acted very fast but added that there is footage and additional information that has been made available to Squamish RCMP.

He also said that last time the gondola had a “rudimentary” camera system and the company wan’t able to give police enough information to be able to act more quickly than it has given currently.

“I have full confidence in the investigative ability of the RCMP,” Brown added.

Kirby said the company is still assessing the damage of today’s vandalism.

The gondola has 40 cabins, of which six are still intact but the condition of the rest is under assessment.

“For a lift, it (the damage) is catastrophic. It is rope and cabin, and metal and steel. The good news is that no one has been hurt, and that is all that matters at this point,” he said.

Brown said the exact damage is being assessed, but expects it to similar to last year, which was approximately $5 million.

“It is replacing the rope in part and replacing most of the cabins, I suspect,” he said.

He also said the gondola is committed to the safety of the public and its employees.

“Standby us and watch us and trust us to have nothing more in mind other than the safety of the team and the public and overall,” he said,

“This individual is acting in a way take the business down and that is their intention. What their motivation is I don’t know, and we will work with RCMP to ensure the person is brought to justice.”