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Deja Vu...Squamish Gondola Line Cut Again.

KingGrump

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but it's scary how not difficult it must be to cut one of these big cables.
That wouldn't be the easiest thing to cut.

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One of this will get it done and home before dinner.
 
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DanoT

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Its a bigass cable. 55mm diameter, and I think somewhere around 4km long. That wouldn't be the easiest thing to cut. More than $2 million to replace the last one.
Apparently they may have someone on security camera.
Actually it is very easy to cut. Picture a chainsaw but without the bar and chain; its called a line saw and has a metal cutting disc that would only take a few minute to cut the cable.
 

KingGrump

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Actually it is very easy to cut. Picture a chainsaw but without the bar and chain; its called a line saw and has a metal cutting disc that would only take a few minute to cut the cable.

Yup, a 14" gas powered cut off saw with a metal cutting wheel will get it done in a hurry. Loud though. Not to mention the sparks.

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Milwaukee make a battery powered 14" cut off saw that is much quieter. Still the sparks can be seen from far away.

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Still think a band saw is a better bet for stealth and ease of handling. Especially if the cut is overhead.
 

Erik Timmerman

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Cutting the cable isn't the hard part. Avoiding the recoil whiplash and falling debris without dying is the hard part.

My first thought is the same as yours, but when I think about it, the ends would move straight away from you really fast. There'd be danger of whiplash everywhere else though.
 

Tricia

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My first thought is the same as yours, but when I think about it, the ends would move straight away from you really fast. There'd be danger of whiplash everywhere else though.
Thats kind of what I thought.
Its crazy. And you'd have to know what you're doing as well as have the tools for the job.
 

DanoT

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My guess is eco-terrorists don't want lift serviced hikers/skiers to "their" backcountry. I also would guess that instead of trying to escape the area, they have multiple hidden hideouts.
 

graham418

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Cutting the cable isn't the hard part. Avoiding the recoil whiplash and falling debris without dying is the hard part.
Exactly this. After working with cables and heavy equipment for many years, you learn how unpredictable a loaded cable can be when it breaks. And that cable would have had some load on it
 

coops

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Exactly this. After working with cables and heavy equipment for many years, you learn how unpredictable a loaded cable can be when it breaks. And that cable would have had some load on it

I'd suggest the police may want to look at owners/recent purchasers of hydraulic cable cutters - not exactly the most common shopping item.

In oilfield wireline logging you can cut a roughly 1/2 inch diameter steel cable with a light and portable hand pump to generate the hydraulic pressure - which is connected to the cutter with hydraulic hose to keep the operator well out of range of any flying wire. This cable car wire would be much larger, but still hydraulics is the way... portable battery or generator and hydraulic power pack.
 

Gary Stolt

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Its a bigass cable. 55mm diameter, and I think somewhere around 4km long. That wouldn't be the easiest thing to cut. More than $2 million to replace the last one.
Apparently they may have someone on security camera.


Yes - well over 2" in diameter. I doubt it could be cut with a tin snips. Lots of energy released.
 

motogreg

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or a cutting torch with a long head, you could do it from the ground, they use them for big demo, ships and such
 

crgildart

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My first thought is the same as yours, but when I think about it, the ends would move straight away from you really fast. There'd be danger of whiplash everywhere else though.
Seems so on paper, but you could get 80% through it and have the rest of it stretch then blow strands in all different directions before finally totally snapping.
 

markojp

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Maybe re-title the thread from Whistler to Squammish?
 

Jilly

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According tot the CBC news release, someone or they, climbed a tower. When they set foot on the tower, it triggered an alarm. After the last time, they upped the security cameras etc. In the CTV news release you can see an RCMP officer looking at a tablet. So there is video, they just aren't saying anything about it.
 

graham418

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Seems so on paper, but you could get 80% through it and have the rest of it stretch then blow strands in all different directions before finally totally snapping.
When you cut a loaded cable, it can whip like a cracking bullwhip
 

Erik Timmerman

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Seems so on paper, but you could get 80% through it and have the rest of it stretch then blow strands in all different directions before finally totally snapping.

Somehow this guy did it twice without being decapitated.
 

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