Vandalized Sea to Sky Gondola reopening on Valentine's Day

The Sea to Sky Gondola will reopenon Valentine's Day, just over six months after a vandal cut through the main cablecausingmillions of dollars in damage.

The Squamish, B.C., tourist attraction took delivery of anew 4.4-kilometre cable from Switzerland in Octoberand 30 new cars are currently being assembled for installation. Nine cars that were not damagedhave been certified for re-use.

General Manager Kirby Brown says the Feb.14 reopening is earlier than anticipated.

"Our industry partners were there every step of the way, from assisting in the clean-up and assessing needs to delivering major components with absolutely no notice," he said. "Our community stood by the gondola and showed us overwhelming support, confidenceand love through the last six months, and for that, we are so grateful."

Police have determined the cablewas intentionally severed in the early morning of Aug.10, 2019, bringing 30 gondola cars crashing to the ground and causing millions of dollars in damage. No one was injured.

An investigation by Technical Safety B.C. found that the vandallikely climbed a maintenance ladder on one of the gondola support towers before cutting a critical number of cable strands, causing the whole thing to snap.

No suspects have been arrested and the criminal investigation is ongoing.

The two-kilometre long gondola, located off Highway 99 near the Stawamus Chief, is a major tourist attraction carrying 400,000 visitors annually up thesteep mountainside above Howe Sound.

According to Brown, thecutting of the cableforcedthe immediate layoff of 75 seasonal staff. He estimates the overall cost of the vandalism and repairs to be somewhere between $5 million and $10 million.

The company says lift tickets will be discounted by 50 per cent during the reopening long weekend.