Gondola Passes Selling Fast

Late last month, the company building the cable that runs two kilometres up a bluff between Shannon Falls and the Stawamus Chief opened up sales on its inaugural Sea to Sky Gondola Annual Pass. The company is happy with the results, spokesperson Elyse Mailhot stated in an email to The Chief.

“We are very excited at how it has been going and are approximately 85 per cent sold,” she wrote.

Gondola backers are surprised at the individual adult passes vs. family passes ratio, said Jayson Faulkner, the gondola’s general manager. Since children under six years are free, Faulkner guesses young families are instead opting for individual passes.

Work has stopped at the 9,000-square-foot Summit Lodge while the snow falls, but activity at the base is in full swing, Mailhot said.

“The base is looking good with lots of places of gathering,” she said.

Gondola proponents are ironing out regulations that will surround the facility. One of the big questions on a lot of Squamish residents’ minds is regarding dogs. The four-legged members of people’s families will likely be allowed in the facility, Mailhot said.

“We will have to control it,” she added. “They won’t be banned; [the question is] how do you handle that.”

This month, Squamish residents can also expect to see passenger cabins on the Sea to Sky Gondola. The eight-person cars are scheduled to be added to the lift, Mailhot told The Chief in the next week or so.

Construction on three of six trails is completed. The trails cater to different interests and age groups, including everything from two interpretative walks to a six-kilometre “Grind-style” Sea to Summit Trail, she said last month.

Story originally posted by The Chief Here.

Story by Rebecca Aldous
Photography by Sterling Lowerence