Sea to Sky Gondola

The operator's launch-year material describes 20 Doppelmayr-built cabins, each carrying up to eight people, while Wikipedia gives a higher count, so treat the number of cabins as approximate; the equipment was built by Doppelmayr/Garaventa. The gondola equipment came from the Doppelmayr/Garaventa group in Austria, and the cabins were built by its Swiss CWA Constructions division. Wikipedia describes the cabins as wheelchair and stroller accessible, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The summit station is on the slopes of Mount Habrich. The project is reported to have involved around CAD $22 million of investment; Wikipedia notes a separate lower figure for the gondola equipment alone. Construction began in April 2013, and the company is owned by three local-area investors, listed as Trevor Dunn, David Greenfield and Michael Hutchison, and operated as Sea to Sky Gondola LP.

British Columbia trail builder Ted Tempany was appointed in July 2013 to build the hiking trails. The Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge was built by Macdonald & Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd., a firm known for restoring the Kinsol Trestle on Vancouver Island, and the bridge and two of the three viewing platforms were finished in October 2013, with a first test run in November 2013.

The gondola sits beside Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. In 2012 the provincial government removed 2.36 hectares from the park by legislation in a move tied to the project, which drew public debate over building commercial infrastructure beside a protected area. The 20-metre-wide gondola corridor was then re-designated as the Stawamus Chief Protected Area, and an earlier proposal for a gondola on the Stawamus Chief itself had been unsuccessful.

The summit complex has three viewing platforms, two interpretive loop walks with cantilevered lookouts, and the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge. The operator gives the bridge as about 100 metres long, while Wikipedia lists 95 metres, so treat the length as approximate. It leads toward the Spirit viewing platform, which Wikipedia says holds displays on the history of the Squamish people. The Summit Lodge viewing platform, beside the unloading station, looks toward Howe Sound, the Tantalus Range, Diamond Head and Sky Pilot Mountain, while the Chief Overlook on the Panorama Trail looks toward Mamquam Mountain, Atwell Peak and the back of the Stawamus Chief.

The Summit Lodge, a roughly 9,000 square foot building completed in spring 2014, holds the restaurant, bar and shop. Wikipedia says it was built with more than 700 local Douglas fir beams, the largest about 21 metres long.

Wikipedia counts twelve hiking routes in the area, six frontcountry and six backcountry, and the operator lists hiking, walking, via ferrata and seasonal activities. Check the operator for what is running when you visit, since trail and activity availability changes with snow and weather.

The suspension bridge has been used as a filming location for the television series Altered Carbon and The Magicians and appears in the film A Dog's Way Home, according to Wikipedia. The gondola also featured in the first leg of The Amazing Race Canada 6, where teams rode to the top for their next clue.

• Buy tickets only from the operator's own site, which warns about fraudulent lookalike sites.
• Check the operator for current hours, ticket options and weather status; wind and snow can affect operation.
• Allow two to three hours if you want to ride, walk a loop and eat.

Shannon Falls and the trails of Stawamus Chief Provincial Park are minutes away on the same highway, and Garibaldi Provincial Park and Whistler lie further north. With a private Voyzo tour, your driver and vehicle stay with you door to door, so you can ride up, linger at the summit and carry on to the next Sea to Sky stop at your own pace.