'A nightmare': Nature-goers stranded in B.C. backcountry after bridge washes out

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

May and Oleg Zadnipryany drove into the Squamish Valley along a remote forest service road Saturday morning to take in the sights of the Squamish River. However, the trip did not go as planned.

On the way back out, the couple reached a bridge at the approximately 22-kilometre mark of Squamish River Forest Service Road and realized the line of cars ahead of them had stopped.

“We get out, and we see that there’s no bridge,” May Zadnipryany told CTV News. “All you can see is the two pipes along the side.”

A bridge washed out on a forest service road in the Squamish Valley on Saturday, Sept. 14. (Courtesy: Oleg Zadnipryany)The bridge was washed out, leaving behind a muddy chasm in the road, steep embankments on either side.

“How are we going to get out? We’re gonna be stuck here,” she remembers thinking.

The couple were not planning on an overnight stay in the valley and didn’t pack any extra food, and Zadnipryany said she was worried about not making it to her health-care job back in Vancouver.

The Zadnipryanys waited around for a couple of hours, thinking help might be on the way. After watching one man successfully make it, they opted to abandon their truck and try to cross the debris field on foot, pushing away fears of being washed away by the river.

The effort involved clambering over slippery piles of mud and crawling in the dirt. Zadnipryany ended up climbing up first at the other side to throw a rope to her husband.

“We managed, but it was really scary,” Zadnipryany said.

A bridge washed out on a forest service road in the Squamish Valley on Saturday, Sept. 14. (Courtesy: Oleg Zadnipryany)The pair then walked along the dirt road for two hours before coming across a Good Samaritan who offered to drive them back to Highway 99.

Once at the Sea to Sky, a $300 cab ride was the final step in the couple’s adventure, and they arrived home around 11:30 p.m.

“It was a nightmare,” Zadnipryany said, thinking back on the ordeal. But what she’s most concerned about are the people who could still be stuck behind the washed-out bridge.

There were a handful of nature-goers already at the site when the Zadnipryanys arrived—including two families with small children—and more could have been on the way from campsites along the route.

Posts on local Facebook groups indicate people were still stuck on the road Sunday, and commenters offered rides and supply delivery. There is no cell reception in the area.

The emergency management ministry confirmed Monday that it was notified of the slide, and that Squamish Search and Rescue has been in contact with those who are stranded and are on standby in case help is needed.

“(SAR) confirmed there were no injuries, and that the group was well-equipped with resources to continue camping while the road is being repaired,” a spokesperson wrote.

The province expects the road to be back open by Thursday, by which point anyone who stayed in the area would have been stuck there for five days.

“(Squamish River FSR) subject to flooding, washouts and debris slides. Be prepared to overnight in the event of a flood or slide,” reads the forest service road conditions page on the government’s website. 

May and Oleg Zadnipryany are pictured. (Courtesy: Oleg Zadnipryany)An unknown is when the couple will be able to get their vehicle back, or how long it will take for the bridge to be rebuilt. In the meantime, Zadnipryany says the incident has some takeaways.

“The mud is like peanut butter, and it's good thing that I had my boots with me,” she laughed, adding she brought a change of clothes, which her husband had questioned since they were just going on a day trip.

“It was a lesson for us to always be prepared when we go out. You never know what happens,” she said.