The two men who are proposing a controversial gondola for the Stawamus Chief will go before Squamish council Tuesday (Sept. 28).
But outdoor enthusiasts want Paul Mathews and Peter Alder to seriously consider taking their gondola up above Shannon Falls to the top of Goat Ridge.
"In broad terms what is being discussed is having a gondola climb that hillside into the base of the top of Shannon Falls," climbing community leader Perry Beckham told The Chief. Beckham is a member of Squamish's Select Committee on Outdoor Recreation.
"A lot of people are not opposed to the idea of a gondola," Beckham said. "The notion of any kind of structure on the top of the Chief, whether it is a gondola or not, is not popular.
"We don't want anything up there. We're opposed to any man-made structures."
The ladders and chains that were put in place to help hikers get to the summits are not fully supported by Beckham and others who share his hard line opinion.
Beckham recommends that the proponents build a gondola that will take people from the location currently proposed for the gondola base station, across Olesen Creek and up to the bottom of the ice climbs above Shannon Creek.
"There would be road access from the bottom of the gondola," Beckham said.
Cliff Miller, another member of the Select Committee on Outdoor Recreation committee and the president of the Squamish Off Road Cycling Association, agrees with Beckham. "Put the gondola in but put it in a place that other recreationalists can use it," Miller said. "If you put it up to the top of Goat Ridge you open up a whole area of mountain bike descents.
"The views up there have got to be unbelievable and it is so far untouched up there," said Miller.
Beckham and Miller also both agree that there are significant commercial advantages if the gondola terminus is outside of a provincial park.
"I think it would be fabulous," Beckham said of the idea of the gondola taking people to a mountaintop restaurant or café. They both also agree there could be recreational opportunities for guiding companies and mountain bike companies at the top of the lift.
"The proponent would not be limited to the footprint at the top of the gondola and they would have road access to the top of the gondola," Beckham said. "There would be the hiking and the climbing. There's been an incredible trail network that gets you to the top of goat ridge that was installed by the trials riders and now you have helicopter tours taking mountain bikers to the top of goat ridge to ride those trails. It is a beautiful little area.
"There would be a lot of recreational opportunities."
Beckham is also open to the idea of a gondola that goes across the Squamish River and takes people up toward Echo and Alec Lakes above Monmouth Creek.
The special council meeting will take place at Brennan Park Recreation Centre starting at 7 p.m.
