PARK INFO & SAFETY
IMPORTANT TRAVEL and SAFETY INFORMATION
Please read all of the information in the next two sections of this page for important personal safety.
BC Parks website, Maps Page
See our Facebook Group to learn about current conditions in the park and the road conditions (Sechelt-Gary FSR) to the park. The club encourages Tetrahedron Park users to visit and/or join the Facebook Group to see postings of individuals or groups planning overnight stays in the cabins. You don't have to be a TOC member to do this and it's a public group so you can see the postings without joining FB. Joining the FB group you can easily share or ask for updated information, post photos, communicate with the group or specific members, post outdoor gear for sale, propose trips or events. BUT, before you head over to Facebook please read all of the information below.
BC Parks website, Maps Page
See our Facebook Group to learn about current conditions in the park and the road conditions (Sechelt-Gary FSR) to the park. The club encourages Tetrahedron Park users to visit and/or join the Facebook Group to see postings of individuals or groups planning overnight stays in the cabins. You don't have to be a TOC member to do this and it's a public group so you can see the postings without joining FB. Joining the FB group you can easily share or ask for updated information, post photos, communicate with the group or specific members, post outdoor gear for sale, propose trips or events. BUT, before you head over to Facebook please read all of the information below.
Current Bulletins about the Park, Road, Trails, or Cabins
The road has seen some recent work but PLEASE NOTE, it is currently only suitable for 4WD or AWD with high clearance and chains are necessary in the winter and early spring. Bring a shovel in the event you have to dig yourself out.
The road is an 11km FSR that is not maintained by its owners - the Province of BC - and is NOT REGULARLY PLOWED. The club does what it can, with funds raised, to keep it from deteriorating further by hiring contractors to establish and maintain water-bars, which may prove difficult or impossible for vehicles without sufficient clearance. Use this road at your own risk.
Steele Creek (past Edwards on the way to Steele or McNair cabins) has a new bridge installed thanks to volunteers and the Sunshine Coast Community Forest. Rain-on-snow weather events early and late in the season can mean Steele Creek is running high and fast. Ensure to shovel snow before crossing.
The Chapman Creek Bridge (McNair cabin trail) has been repaired but is again at a bit of an angle. It's unlikely but possible the middle support may get undermined during a high water flow event this season. Cross carefully and use the rope rail, or turn around and go back to Edwards cabin if it doesn't look safe.
The trail to McNair Cabin crosses wetlands with many small waterways before and after Chapman Creek. Expect those waterways to be open if you are traveling during milder conditions in winter, or if the season has generally been mild. In all seasons the trail to McNair is the most difficult because of the boggy terrain, remote location, and regular blowdown of trees across the trail. Expect to take extra time to find safe and dry crossings and to get over logs in any season.
Please do not email the club to ask about the condition of the road. Check the Facebook Group for the most recent info on road conditions as reported by recent visitors.
VANDALISM AND THEFT AT WINTER PARKING LOT
Although not common - on at least 2 occasions early in 2017 vehicles parked overnight were vandalised or broken into and items stolen.
DON'T LEAVE ANY VALUABLES IN YOUR VEHICLE!
The road has seen some recent work but PLEASE NOTE, it is currently only suitable for 4WD or AWD with high clearance and chains are necessary in the winter and early spring. Bring a shovel in the event you have to dig yourself out.
The road is an 11km FSR that is not maintained by its owners - the Province of BC - and is NOT REGULARLY PLOWED. The club does what it can, with funds raised, to keep it from deteriorating further by hiring contractors to establish and maintain water-bars, which may prove difficult or impossible for vehicles without sufficient clearance. Use this road at your own risk.
Steele Creek (past Edwards on the way to Steele or McNair cabins) has a new bridge installed thanks to volunteers and the Sunshine Coast Community Forest. Rain-on-snow weather events early and late in the season can mean Steele Creek is running high and fast. Ensure to shovel snow before crossing.
The Chapman Creek Bridge (McNair cabin trail) has been repaired but is again at a bit of an angle. It's unlikely but possible the middle support may get undermined during a high water flow event this season. Cross carefully and use the rope rail, or turn around and go back to Edwards cabin if it doesn't look safe.
The trail to McNair Cabin crosses wetlands with many small waterways before and after Chapman Creek. Expect those waterways to be open if you are traveling during milder conditions in winter, or if the season has generally been mild. In all seasons the trail to McNair is the most difficult because of the boggy terrain, remote location, and regular blowdown of trees across the trail. Expect to take extra time to find safe and dry crossings and to get over logs in any season.
Please do not email the club to ask about the condition of the road. Check the Facebook Group for the most recent info on road conditions as reported by recent visitors.
VANDALISM AND THEFT AT WINTER PARKING LOT
Although not common - on at least 2 occasions early in 2017 vehicles parked overnight were vandalised or broken into and items stolen.
DON'T LEAVE ANY VALUABLES IN YOUR VEHICLE!
TRAVEL SAFETY, CONDITIONS, WEATHER
IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN TETRAHEDRON PROVINCIAL PARK YOU SHOULD CARRY A GOOD MAP OF THE AREA, or download it to your phone. Go to the maps page of this website for the BCParks contour map. Phone-based map apps that rely on satellite connections are of limited use and may be useless in the forested sections.
THERE IS VERY LIMITED CELL COVERAGE IN TETRAHEDRON PROVINCIAL PARK. You cannot rely on Cell Service but there is sometimes and depending on you service provider some coverage at and above Mt. Steele cabin and near the bottom of Sechelt-Gray FSR. There is spotty service at Edwards cabin.
Sechelt-Gray FSR is a gravel Forest Service Road, 11 km long and climbing to ~2500 ft (800m) from sea-level. In the winter IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOUR VEHICLE HAS 4WD OR IS A HIGHER-CLEARANCE AWD AND YOU HAVE CHAINS AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. A SHOVEL COULD ALSO BE CRITICAL. The road is often icy and rutted, and is narrow and steep in places. What looks like a shoulder may just be a ditch filled with snow.
YES! AVALANCHE HAZARDS EXIST IN TETRAHEDRON PROVINCIAL PARK! IF YOU INTEND TO TRAVEL TO EDWARDS, MT. STEELE or McNAIR CABIN you should know what the current avalanche conditions are and make appropriate decisions.
For winter travel avalanche training is recommended, and that everyone travelling in avalanche terrain is carrying avalanche rescue equipment; at minimum a probe, shovel, and avalanche transceiver. There’s lots of information on the Avalanche Canada website under the Learn tab or if you are new to the mountains in winter check the Start Here tab. The online AvySavvy (https://avysavvy.avalanche.ca/) course is a great place to get an introduction to avalanche safety or refresh your knowledge.
For current avalanche info go to the Avalanche Canada website and use the South Coast forecast as your primary resource. It may be beneficial to also review the Sea-to-Sky forecast.
Avalanche hazard areas:
Helicopter rescue to this area is highly dependent on weather and visibility. Any emergency rescue would mostly likely be a GROUND RESCUE by volunteers of Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue and MANY hours away.
FREEZING LEVELS, SNOW, RAIN, WIND AND GENERAL CONDITIONS FORECASTS:
Cypress Mountain 6-day Forecast
NEW weather station in the Tetrahedron with hourly data on temps, snow, rain, wind, etc.
Mt. Strachan weather station (Cypress, 1420m)
Parking lot to Batchelor Cabin:
2.5 km, summer 45 min – 1.25 hrs, winter 1 – 2 hrs
Batchelor Cabin coordinates:
49.59264, -123.65441 49:35:33, -123:39:16 10U 452705 5493545
Parking lot to Edwards Cabin:
4.5 km, summer 1.5 - 2 hrs, winter 2.5 – 3 hrs
Edwards cabin coordinates:
49.59450, -123.62364 49:35:40, -123:37:25 10U 454931 5493733
Edwards Cabin to Mt. Steele Cabin:
3 km, summer 1.5 - 2 hrs, winter 2 – 3 hrs
Mt. Steele Cabin coordinates:
49.60907, -123.60884 49:36:33, -123:36:32 10U 456013 5495345
Edwards Cabin – McNair Cabin:
5 km, summer 1.5 – 2 hrs, winter 2 – 3 hrs
McNair Cabin coordinates:
49.57777, -123.58892 49:34:40, -123:35:20 10U 457425 5491854
(With thanks to Bivouac.com for elevation and coordinates data.)
THERE IS VERY LIMITED CELL COVERAGE IN TETRAHEDRON PROVINCIAL PARK. You cannot rely on Cell Service but there is sometimes and depending on you service provider some coverage at and above Mt. Steele cabin and near the bottom of Sechelt-Gray FSR. There is spotty service at Edwards cabin.
Sechelt-Gray FSR is a gravel Forest Service Road, 11 km long and climbing to ~2500 ft (800m) from sea-level. In the winter IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOUR VEHICLE HAS 4WD OR IS A HIGHER-CLEARANCE AWD AND YOU HAVE CHAINS AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. A SHOVEL COULD ALSO BE CRITICAL. The road is often icy and rutted, and is narrow and steep in places. What looks like a shoulder may just be a ditch filled with snow.
YES! AVALANCHE HAZARDS EXIST IN TETRAHEDRON PROVINCIAL PARK! IF YOU INTEND TO TRAVEL TO EDWARDS, MT. STEELE or McNAIR CABIN you should know what the current avalanche conditions are and make appropriate decisions.
For winter travel avalanche training is recommended, and that everyone travelling in avalanche terrain is carrying avalanche rescue equipment; at minimum a probe, shovel, and avalanche transceiver. There’s lots of information on the Avalanche Canada website under the Learn tab or if you are new to the mountains in winter check the Start Here tab. The online AvySavvy (https://avysavvy.avalanche.ca/) course is a great place to get an introduction to avalanche safety or refresh your knowledge.
For current avalanche info go to the Avalanche Canada website and use the South Coast forecast as your primary resource. It may be beneficial to also review the Sea-to-Sky forecast.
Avalanche hazard areas:
- There is an avalanche hazard along the last section of the old logging road past Victor's Landing on the way to Edwards lake/cabin: it's a short slope but if it slides - and it can during constant-loading storm cycles and freeze-thaw conditions - it could carry you down into the trees below. Stay safe on this section during extreme conditions by spacing yourselves out, or avoid it by using the Gilbert Lake route from the upper parking lot.
- High winds create unstable slabs and cornices all around Mt. Steele and its interconnecting ridges. A very significant avalanche hazard exists in the west-facing bowl between Mt. Steele and its lesser peak to the southwest. AVOID TRAVEL ABOVE EDWARDS CABIN WHEN AVALANCHE HAZARD RATINGS ARE SIGNIFICANT.
- If you are unfamiliar with the trails and are visiting during or just after a blizzard you should expect the trail markers to be obscured by snow and tracks to be covered.
- Mt. Steele cabin: you should have a map and route-finding skills. Trail markers in the open rocky area above the forest may be obscured by fog or wind-driven snow, and the trail is usually covered by snow well into July.
- McNair cabin: in the winter you should have a map and route-finding skills. Markers can be faint or missing, especially in the meadow and pond area above and below Chapman Lake. The cabin will not be a landmark, and in many years it gets entirely buried by snow.
Helicopter rescue to this area is highly dependent on weather and visibility. Any emergency rescue would mostly likely be a GROUND RESCUE by volunteers of Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue and MANY hours away.
FREEZING LEVELS, SNOW, RAIN, WIND AND GENERAL CONDITIONS FORECASTS:
Cypress Mountain 6-day Forecast
NEW weather station in the Tetrahedron with hourly data on temps, snow, rain, wind, etc.
Mt. Strachan weather station (Cypress, 1420m)
- lower (winter) parking lot 820 m (2690 ft)
- upper (4wd summer) parking lot 940 m (3084 ft)
- Batchelor cabin 1010 m (3314 ft)
- Edwards cabin 1130 m (3707 ft)
- McNair cabin 975 m (3199 ft)
- Mt. Steele cabin 1500 m (4921 ft)
Parking lot to Batchelor Cabin:
2.5 km, summer 45 min – 1.25 hrs, winter 1 – 2 hrs
Batchelor Cabin coordinates:
49.59264, -123.65441 49:35:33, -123:39:16 10U 452705 5493545
Parking lot to Edwards Cabin:
4.5 km, summer 1.5 - 2 hrs, winter 2.5 – 3 hrs
Edwards cabin coordinates:
49.59450, -123.62364 49:35:40, -123:37:25 10U 454931 5493733
Edwards Cabin to Mt. Steele Cabin:
3 km, summer 1.5 - 2 hrs, winter 2 – 3 hrs
Mt. Steele Cabin coordinates:
49.60907, -123.60884 49:36:33, -123:36:32 10U 456013 5495345
Edwards Cabin – McNair Cabin:
5 km, summer 1.5 – 2 hrs, winter 2 – 3 hrs
McNair Cabin coordinates:
49.57777, -123.58892 49:34:40, -123:35:20 10U 457425 5491854
(With thanks to Bivouac.com for elevation and coordinates data.)