The technical maintenance team for the Fansipan Cable Car system have one of most challenging roles you could imagine. To do this job, you certainly need a head for heights.

At 6pm each day, as the twilight thickens across the Muong Hoa Valley, and the night lights of Sa Pa start to twinkle, the technical maintenance team of Fansipan Cable Car will still be concentrating hard on their job.

Pham Phu Cuong, the team leader, always requests his members to carefully prepare all of their personal protective equipment each day. He will remind them of any particular risks to be extra-mindful of — for example, as one of the first people employed to work on this project, Cuong knows better than anyone that extreme weather toward the end of the year can create treacherous situations.

The team’s maintenance tools are put in a corner of the departure station’s basement.

When everyone has been briefed, the maintenance team will get to work. Even though he’s now quite experienced, Nguyen An Binh, one of the technicians, admits he always feel anxious at this moment. In his eyes, each and every maintenance shift is a challenge that requires bravery and patience.

At 7pm, the whole cable car system is shut down for the day and maintenance begins.

Due to the mountainous terrain, and the extreme weather, the Fansipan Sapa Cable Car Tourism Company mobilised members of the technical maintenance team from Ba Na Hills in Da Nang City as they had become accustomed to working at a great height and were well-known as astute and professional engineers.

The team works one or other of two shifts. The first shift goes from 8am to 5pm and mostly involves maintaining the cabins and making sure the system is running smoothly through the day. The second shift from 2pm to 11pm is considered the greater challenge.

At 8pm, when the temperature drops to about 11 or 12 degrees Celsius, Cuong says that he will still be sweating as he rubs various pulleys and checks the gravity cable. “We are tasked with cleaning up the system, checking the safety of the pulleys and consistency of movement. Inside each pulley there are ball bearings, after a period of time, they will be worn out, and need replacing,” says Cuong.

His colleague Bui Duy Linh says the job isn’t easy, especially if the weather is bad. “If it rains, we cannot go outside but have to stay working in one of the two stations. However, 70 per cent of the work needs to be done outside, so bad weather is always a challenge. It is more difficult on snowy days,” he adds.

Outside of the station, when mountain dew starts to form, parts of the system can get dangerously slippery. The team will sometimes divide into two smaller groups to ensure safety.

When recalling his first days on the job, Treo Ong Lo, a H’mong ethnic man, says that the anxiety he feels with each shift remains unchanged. But as they have to climb up pillars to check and maintain the cable car system everyday, he believes the team gradually gets used to this job.

“We have to work in thinner air every night,” says Binh, while polishing the cable. “The high altitudes can be overwhelming for newcomers. I always try to encourage and ensure safety for my colleagues.”

On the evening shift, a team of five people has to oil, grease and check all of pulleys and examine all the cables in four hours.

On the evening shift, a team of five people has to oil, grease and check all of pulleys and examine all the cables in four hours.

The job is challenging but these young men are extremely grateful for the opportunity. “I like working outside as it feels comfortable and liberating. My life has been transformed by this job. It has helped me support my family financially. I can also come home more frequently,” says Lo.

Inside the control room, there is always a person responsible for monitoring the cable maintenance team to prevent risks. The most dangerous task is to maintain the cable system on the outside. The team can only approach it by climbing out from a cabin.

The most dangerous task is to maintain the outside cable system. The team can only approach it by climbing out from a material cabin.

Inside the control room, there is always a person responsible for monitoring the cable maintenance team to prevent risks. The most dangerous task is to maintain the cable system on the outside. The team can only approach it by climbing out from a cabin.

As experienced engineers, climbing is not a big deal to them. Meanwhile, weathers pose a greater challenge. There are not many troubles in hot seasons but in winter, it is another story.

“When it snowed here in Sapa, we had to wear several layers to combat the biting cold!” says Binh.

Come rain, or come shine, the team has to work on the outside for several hours to check all of the pulleys and cables.

The cable car system will still operate in snowfall if there is under 20mm of snow on the ground. “On a winter’s morning, four or five of us will start up the system by climbing out and removing any ice we see on the cables so that the system can operate,” said Binh.

Of course, they take maximum precautions to ensure safety, but working up so high in the air still involves plenty of risk. When they finished at 10pm, and re-enter a cabin, Binh and Lo admit they always feel relieved.

At 10pm, when the job is done, entering the cabin, Binh and Lo feel relieved.

But hanging up in the air, hundreds of meters above the ground, tolerating strong gusts of wind, and dealing with the biting cold — it’s all part of the job for these technicians, who have to ensure the system operates safely.

Thanks to their daily checks, now many thousands of visitors to Sapa can climb into a cabin and experience the thrill of riding along the world’s longest three-wire cable car all the way to top of Fansipan, where they can feast their eyes on the breathtaking beauty of this stunning mountainous realm.