Is the Sea to Sky Gondola Safe? The 2019 and 2020 Cable Cuts, Explained

Two Cable Cuts, Not a Pattern: What Really Happened

If you search “Sea to Sky Gondola closed” before booking a day in Squamish, you will run into two real, well-documented incidents: the haul cable of the Sea to Sky Gondola was deliberately cut in August 2019, and again in September 2020. Both times the lift was closed for months, rebuilt, and reopened. Neither incident has repeated since May 2021, and there is nothing in either case that points to an ongoing risk. This page exists to separate that documented history from the current, entirely normal operation of the gondola — because the two get conflated in search results far more than the facts justify.

This is not the page for what the ride itself feels like, what the viewing deck and the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge look like, or how it compares to the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola in Whistler village. For that, see the full guide to what to expect at the Sea to Sky Gondola and the Peak 2 Peak versus Sea to Sky Gondola comparison. What follows here is the safety and closure history, in full, and where the gondola stands today.

The Sea to Sky Gondola: A Short Recap

The Sea to Sky Gondola opened in 2014, climbing from the highway just north of Squamish to a viewing platform, a network of short trails and the suspension bridge, with the granite face of the Stawamus Chief filling the view across the valley. It sits roughly midway along the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler, which is why it is such a common half-day stop on a longer drive north — see the scenic stops along the Sea to Sky Highway for the rest of that route, including Shannon Falls next door.

The gondola is privately owned and operated, separate from Whistler Blackcomb and from the municipal government of either Squamish or Whistler. That ownership structure matters for this story: when the cable was cut, it was this one company’s infrastructure and insurance on the line, and the rebuild decisions were theirs to make.

August 2019: The First Cable Cut

On the night of 13 August 2019, someone climbed into the gondola’s tower structure and deliberately severed the main haul cable. With the cable gone, dozens of empty cabins fell from the line to the forest floor below. The gondola was closed overnight and unoccupied at the time; nobody was riding it, and no injuries were reported.

The damage was serious enough that the company announced a full rebuild rather than a repair, expecting the gondola to be closed for months. In the meantime, the operator ran a shuttle service so hikers could still reach the upper trails on foot, and kept the base facilities and restaurant open. The gondola reopened to riders on 14 December 2019, roughly four months after the cut — a fast rebuild for a project of that scale, helped by having already ordered replacement cable and parts in the weeks after the incident.

No suspect was identified. The RCMP investigated, a reward was offered for information, and media at the time speculated — without confirmation — about opposition to the gondola’s presence on the mountain. None of that speculation was ever substantiated, and the case remains officially unsolved.

September 2020: The Second Cable Cut

A little over a year after reopening, on the night of 14 September 2020, the cable was cut again, in what investigators described as a similar deliberate act. As in 2019, cabins fell and the gondola closed immediately; again, nobody was on the lift and no injuries were reported.

This second incident triggered a longer rebuild. The company reopened the gondola on 13 May 2021, about eight months later, using the closure to upgrade parts of the system rather than simply replace what had been cut. Since that reopening in May 2021, the Sea to Sky Gondola has run on its normal seasonal schedule every year, with no third incident and no operational disruption tied to either of the earlier cuts.

As with the first cut, no one has been publicly identified or charged. Two unsolved cases involving the same piece of infrastructure, two years apart, is unusual — but “unusual and unresolved” is a different claim from “ongoing risk,” and nothing in the record since 2021 supports treating it as one.

Timeline at a Glance

Date	Event	Reopened
2014	Sea to Sky Gondola opens	—
13 August 2019	Cable deliberately cut (1st time)	14 December 2019
14 September 2020	Cable deliberately cut (2nd time)	13 May 2021
May 2021 – today	Normal seasonal operation, no repeat incident	—

Is It Safe to Ride Today?

Yes. The Sea to Sky Gondola has operated continuously and normally since May 2021, on the same kind of schedule and under the same engineering oversight that applies to every aerial lift in British Columbia — routine inspections, cable maintenance and wind-hold protocols that pause service in high wind, none of which is specific to this gondola’s history.

Both cuts were acts of deliberate vandalism against the cable, not a mechanical failure, a design flaw, or an accident during operation with passengers aboard. That distinction is the whole reason it makes sense to talk about “history” here rather than “risk”: there is no known unresolved vulnerability that the two incidents point to, and no pattern of recurrence in the five-plus years since the second one.

Practically, this means you can plan a Sea to Sky Gondola visit exactly as you would plan a visit to any other cable car in the region — the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb included. Check the day’s operating hours and weather before you drive, the way you would for any lift, and nothing more.

a Sea to Sky Gondola admission ticket is the simplest way to ride it on your own schedule once you are in Squamish, with entry timed to when you arrive rather than a fixed departure.

Visiting From Vancouver or Whistler

Most visitors reach the gondola as a stop on a longer day rather than a standalone trip, since it sits almost exactly between the two. From Vancouver, it is a popular half-day or full-day outing paired with Squamish’s other sights; see driving Highway 99 and what to know before you go if you are self-driving, including the seasonal winter tyre rule that catches visitors off guard.

If you would rather not drive, a guided day trip from Vancouver to the Sea to Sky Gondola and on to Whistler covers the whole corridor with a driver who knows the road, which also sidesteps any concern about winter conditions on Highway 99.

For a shorter, gondola-and-waterfall combination without continuing on to Whistler, a Vancouver tour pairing the Sea to Sky Gondola with Shannon Falls fits a single day comfortably. Travelling from the Whistler side instead, a Whistler-based day trip to the Sea to Sky Gondola and Shannon Falls runs the same pairing in the other direction.

For the full range of ways to link the gondola with Vancouver, see is a Whistler day trip from Vancouver worth it and Vancouver Airport to Whistler transfer options, or plan a longer loop with the three-day Sea to Sky Highway road trip itinerary.

What the Gondola Connects You To

None of this history changes what is actually at the top and bottom of the ride. At the base, you are steps from the Stawamus Chief trailhead and Shannon Falls; at the summit, short trails lead to viewpoints over Howe Sound and the suspension bridge crossing. For the climbing history tied to the granite face across the valley, see the Stawamus Chief’s climbing history, and for the full range of activity options around the gondola’s base, browse things to do at the Sea to Sky Gondola and things to do in Squamish.

What Changed After 2020: The Security Response

The 2020 rebuild was not a like-for-like replacement. Because the same lift had already been sabotaged once, the operator used the eight-month closure to add measures aimed specifically at stopping a repeat: fencing and hardened access points around the tower bases, camera coverage along sections of the line that had previously been unmonitored overnight, and a regular schedule of after-hours security patrols checking the towers when the gondola is closed.

None of this is visible to a day visitor riding during operating hours — it sits around the infrastructure, not on the ride itself — but it is the practical reason the operator and BC’s engineering inspectors both treat the two cuts as a closed, addressed security gap rather than an open one. There has been no third incident, and no reported attempt, since these measures went in.

Ride Length, Height and Timing

For planning purposes, the ride itself is short relative to the drive to get there. Cabins run continuously rather than to a fixed timetable, so there is no departure time to catch once you are through the base terminal — you board the next available cabin.

The climb covers roughly 885 metres of vertical gain over about ten minutes, one of the steeper ascents of any gondola in the Sea to Sky corridor, ending at a summit noticeably cooler and windier than the base; a layer that felt unnecessary in the Squamish car park is often welcome at the top, even in July and August. Each cabin carries a small group of passengers rather than running as a two-seat chair, so solo travellers and couples are typically paired with other parties on the way up.

Wind is the one weather factor that affects the ride directly rather than just the view: on days with strong gusts, the operator can put the upper sections on a temporary wind hold, pausing cabins until conditions ease, or in rare cases suspend the summit section for part of the day. This has nothing to do with the 2019 or 2020 cable cuts — it is the same wind-hold protocol used on aerial lifts generally — but it is worth checking the day’s conditions before driving up from Vancouver or Whistler specifically to ride it, rather than to see Shannon Falls or the Chief at ground level regardless of the gondola’s status.

Sea to Sky Gondola Cable Cuts and Safety: Frequently Asked Questions

Was the Sea to Sky Gondola ever shut down?

Yes, twice. The cable was deliberately cut in August 2019, closing the gondola for about four months, and again in September 2020, closing it for about eight months. Outside those two rebuild periods it has operated on its normal seasonal schedule.

What actually happened to the cable?

In both cases someone climbed into the tower structure at night and deliberately severed the main haul cable, causing dozens of empty cabins to fall to the ground below. No one was riding the gondola either time, and no injuries were reported in connection with either incident.

Was anyone hurt in the cable cuts?

No. Both incidents happened overnight when the gondola was closed and no cabins were occupied. The falling cabins damaged trees and equipment on the ground, but there were no reported injuries to staff or visitors.

Was anyone caught or charged?

No suspect has been publicly identified or charged in either the 2019 or the 2020 cutting, despite reward offers and an RCMP investigation. Both cases remain officially unsolved.

Is the Sea to Sky Gondola safe to ride now?

Yes. It has operated on a normal daily schedule since reopening in May 2021, with routine engineering inspections like any other aerial lift in British Columbia. The two cuts were acts of vandalism against the cable itself, not failures of the lift’s design or mechanics, and there has been no repeat incident since.

How long was the gondola closed each time?

After the August 2019 cut, it reopened in December 2019, roughly four months later, running a temporary shuttle in the meantime for hikers. After the September 2020 cut, the rebuild took longer and it reopened in May 2021, about eight months later.

Why would someone cut a gondola cable?

No motive has ever been officially confirmed for either incident. Investigators and media coverage at the time speculated about opposition to the gondola’s presence on the mountain, but this was never proven and no one has claimed responsibility.

Does the cable cut history affect a visit today?

No. It is a piece of the gondola’s past, not a live safety concern — plan a visit exactly as you would for any operating aerial lift, checking only the normal daily weather and wind-hold status rather than any residual risk from 2019 or 2020.