Volunteers with the Tetrahedron Outdoor Club have completed the installation of a new footbridge over Steele Creek in Tetrahedron Provincial Park. The previous wooden bridge was washed out several years ago by a debris torrent during spring runoff. Since then, hikers and skiers have had to endure a hazardous creek crossing, and at least one person was injured after slipping off a log into the creek bed.
Planning for the new bridge began in 2019 but the pandemic delayed implementation. In October the new bridge was finally ready to be flown in from its construction site in ts’uḵw’um. The new bridge is constructed from steel I-beams and their weight required the use of a Bell 212 helicopter, the largest flown by Airspan Helicopters. The new bridge is elevated more than a metre above the old bridge deck to avoid damage from future runoff events.
Construction and installation of the bridge took the efforts of many club volunteers. Funding for the new bridge was made possible through a grant from the Sunshine Coast Community Forest Legacy Fund, private donations, and fundraising by club members.
The Tetrahedron Outdoor Club is one of the Coast’s oldest community organizations, having been established as a ski club in the 1960s. They are the official park stewards for Tetrahedron Park through a partnership agreement with BC Parks and maintain the park’s four cabins, which were built by the club in the 1990s. The club also hosts the annual Banff Mountain Film Festival in Gibsons, one of the largest single-day events on the Coast and a major fundraiser for the club. This year’s festival will take place Feb. 3 at Elphinstone Secondary School.
